LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team's defense came up with a steal with 10 seconds left in a two-point game to hang on for a 73-69 win over Eastern Mennonite in the team's Senior Day game on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With W&L (15-8, 9-5 ODAC) leading by six points with 1:10 remaining in regulation, EMU's (5-19, 1-14) Julien Hagerman connected on a three to cut the lead in half. A layup from Aviwe Mahlong, following a free throw from W&L's
Robert DiSibio, cut the Generals' lead to two points, and the Royals got the ball back on the ensuing inbound play by forcing the ball off a General. The W&L defense stayed calm, however, and got the ball right back on a steal by DiSibio, who was failed and proceeded to nail the final two free throws to ice the game.
The Generals trailed the Royals by two points at the half, but they opened the second period with a 15-5 run, making five of their first six shots and both attempts from deep. EMU countered with a 10-2 run to pull back even, but the Generals used the next eight minutes to gradually pull away for a 69-62 lead with three minutes left. DiSibio led the first W&L run of the half with seven points, followed by 10 points during the 21-14 stretch, which came ahead of the heart-throbbing final minute.
Three-point shooting was the key in the first half for the Royals to take their two-point halftime lead, as they made five of their first seven long-range attempts. In total, EMU outscored the Blue and White, 21-6, from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half of the game, making 6-of-9 field goal attempts in that time, to ignite the W&L offense. He also added nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior
Drew Harrell followed with 17 points, as he made 4-of-8 three-point shots, while adding eight rebounds and two steals. Senior
Jack d'Entremont scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, plus a game-high 17 rebounds.
Hagerman made 4-of-7 threes in the game to log an EMU-high 12 points. Mahlong came in next at 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Donovan Arnason scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
DiSibio's 23 points vaulted him one point past Skip Lichtfuss '74 for sixth place on the program's all-time scoring list. With 1,593 points, DiSibio can enter the Top 5 with 73 more points (Mike Daniel '72).
In a tightly packed conference, the Generals' win on Saturday gives them a 9-5 ODAC record, and puts them a full game clear of Virginia Wesleyan, Bridgewater and Roanoke for the No. 4 seed in the approaching conference tournament. W&L has ensured itself a Top 8 seed for the tournament, and will look to clinch a Top 6 seed in the coming games to get a bye into the ODAC Quarterfinals in Salem.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals used a 0.520 (13-25) field goal percentage in the second half to boost their percentage for the game to 0.441 (26-59), while the Royals finished at 40.3 percent (25-62) for the game. Eastern Mennonite made 12-of-27 (.444) shots from deep to W&L's 7-of-23, but the Generals held the free throw advantage at 14 makes to seven.
W&L also held a significant margin in the rebounding department, pulling down 48 total (14 offensive) to just 26 for the visitors. A 14-4 count in offensive rebounds led to a 14-3 W&L lead in second-chance points. The Blue and White also held positive numbers in points in the paint (36-20) and fastbreak points (7-2).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be on the road for their two remaining regular season contests, with the next coming on Wednesday at Lynchburg at 7:00 p.m.
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.
