SALEM, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team stepped into ODAC play for the first time this season on Wednesday night but fell to a hot-shooting Roanoke team by a 98-64 final score.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First-year
Connor Amorosi gave the Generals (1-3, 0-1 ODAC) a slight 3-2 lead a minute in on a three-point play, but the Maroons (4-1, 1-0 ODAC) responded by scoring the next 12 points on the front end of an overall 25-6 run to gain a 27-9 advantage at the 11:16 mark. Roanoke made 10-of-14 shots from the field in that span and got a high of 14 points from Joshua McClary, while W&L was limited to 2-of-13 shooting.
The Generals' offense picked up after that, going 6-of-15 with no turnovers to close out the half, but Roanoke sank 50 percent (7-14) of its field goals over the next 10 minutes to take a 43-23 lead into halftime. Amorosi scored eight points for W&L after the 10-minute mark for a team-high 11 first-half points.
W&L saw a much more productive second half on the offensive end, scoring 41 points on 12-of-25 shooting overall and 5-of-11 from long range. The Maroons, however, continued their hot shooting from the first half throughout the second half, putting up 55 points on 19-of-31 shooting from the floor and 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Amorosi led the Generals with 16 points and eight rebounds on the night, while shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-8 at the foul line. Sophomore Alex Fannéy contributed eight points on 3-for-3 from the field (2-2 3pt FG), all of which came in the second half. Sophomore
Dakota Gordon tied Amorosi for the team high with two steals.
Marcus Morgan scored a Roanoke-best 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, followed by 20 points (8-10 FG) from Clayton Gaither. Jackson Bell (7-9 FG) and McClary (6-12 FG) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the hosts, scoring 17 points and 16 points, respectively. McClary also added nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals to his line.
TEAM STATS:
The Maroons ended the game shooting 60.7 percent (37-61) from the floor, which included 60 percent or higher in both halves. They also made 9-of-18 three-point shots and 15-of-20 free throws. W&L finished the night at 35.6 shooting (21-59) overall and made 16-of-23 free throws.
Roanoke held decided scoring advantages in the paint (50-20) and on fastbreaks (18-6), while the Blue and White outscored the Maroons, 10-9, on second-chance points and 37-33 in bench points. Both teams committed 11 turnovers, with Roanoke holding an 11-9 scoring advantage off turnovers.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Tuesday, November 26, when they make the quick trip to Buena Vista, Va., for a 2:00 p.m. opening tip-off against Southern Virginia.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
