SALEM, Va. – Sophomore
A.J. Thomas sank the go-ahead, and ultimately the game-winning three-point shot with nine seconds left to push the Washington and Lee men's basketball team to a come-from-behind, 74-71 upset win over No. 2 Randolph-Macon in the ODAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After the Yellow Jackets (23-4) took a 68-66 lead with 50.1 seconds left, senior
Robert DiSibio gave the Generals (18-9) a 69-68 lead, losing a defender with a stepback jumper from the top of the key and beyond the arc. Vincent Payne answered on the ensuing possession with a triple of his own from nearly the same spot on the other end of the floor to put the Yellow Jackets back in front by two with 19.1 seconds remaining.
DiSibio brought the ball up the floor and drove the lane on the right, before kicking the ball back out to Thomas outside the arc. Thomas caught the ball and calmy drained the go-ahead three pointer with 9.0 remaining on the clock. RMC's Keishawn Pulley then lost his dribble looking for the tying shot, and DiSibio dove to the floor and covered the ball where he was fouled. DiSibio hit both free throws on the other end, and Thomas stole the full-court inbounds pass to end the game.
Despite leading by a point entering the second half, the Generals found themselves trailing by as many as 11 points with 9:40 left in the game. Senior
Jack d'Entremont then scored five straight points to key a 10-3 W&L run to cut their deficit to 54-50 with seven minutes remaining. The Jackets grew their lead back to nine, before the Generals went on a 16-7 run until 1:14 remained, culminating in a
John Loughlin three to tie the game at 66 all.
Both sides missed just one shot in the opening three minutes, as RMC made 3-of-4 attempts to 2-of-3 from the Blue and White to start with an 8-4 lead. The Generals then locked in on both ends of the court, going on a 20-7 run across the next 10:18 to gain a 24-15 lead, leading to a timeout by RMC after d'Entremont and DiSibio sank threes on back-to-back possessions. During the 20-7 stretch, W&L held the Jackets to just 3-of-13 shooting.
Randolph-Macon closed the first half strongly, going on a 13-5 run to cut the W&L lead to 29-28 at the break. The Yellow Jackets made five of their final nine shot attempts in the first half, with two coming from outside the arc.
TOP PERFORMERS:
DiSibio scored a game-high 26 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 from long range. Thomas's game-winner was his second three pointer of the game, and he finished with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Senior
Drew Harrell followed DiSibio in scoring at 18 points (6-12 FG, 6-6 FT), while d'Entremont rounded out the double-digit W&L scorers with 13 points on 4-of-10 field goals.
Lance Johnson led the Yellow Jackets with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, followed by 15 points from Pulley and 13 points from Daniel Mbangue. Amr Areikat scored 11 points on 4-of-8 field goals, and Payne finished with 10 points.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
The Generals advance to the ODAC championship game for the first time since the 2009 season, where they squared off against Virginia Wesleyan. W&L will be making its eighth appearance all-time in an ODAC title game.
DiSibio's five made three-point shots tied him with Andy Kleinlein '17 for the second-most made triples in program history (189). The all-time program record is held by Mike Holton '91 at 207.
TEAM STATS:
The Yellow Jackets outpaced the Blue and White on field goals, making 48.3 percent (28-58) to 45.8 percent (22-48), but the Generals shot 54.6 percent (12-22) in the second half, made more three-point shots in the game (10-8) and held a 20-7 positive margin in made free throws. The Generals went to the line 22 times compared to just 13 for Randolph-Macon.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in the ODAC championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the Salem Civic Center against No. 1 Hampden-Sydney, who defeated Virginia Wesleyan, 63-52, in Saturday's second semifinal game in Salem.
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.
