LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team fought hard against fourth-ranked Randolph-Macon on Wednesday night, but the Yellow Jackets prevailed, 88-78, in Holekamp Gym.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Yellow Jackets (19-3, 12-1 ODAC) opened the second half with a five-point lead, which was extended to eight on an opening three from Will Coble. W&L (14-8, 8-5 ODAC) then went on its longest run of the second half (7) to get their deficit down to a single point, and the Jackets were only able to lead by five points at the 6:24 mark following two straight 2-for-2 efforts at the line from senior
Jack d'Entremont.
Both sides continued to exchange blows, as Jabril Robinson and Keishawn Pulley hit threes on back-to-back possessions. However, both received answers by the Blue and White, as sophomore
John Loughlin and senior
Drew Harrell kept the team in the game with triples of their own. Malcolm Johnson then hit a floater which spurred a key 13-4 run for RMC to boost the lead to 82-68 with 1:21 left.
The Generals showed late life, as three-pointers from senior
Robert DiSibio and Loughlin on the next two possessions got it back to an eight-point game with 48 seconds left. After that, the Jackets made 6-of-8 free throws to keep their distance and walk away with the win.
Loughlin had the opening bucket in the game, a corner three, before nailing another a minute later for an early 6-2 lead. The Generals remained in front by three points with nine minutes left before halftime, before a 14-3 Randolph-Macon run gave the visitors an eight-point advantage at the 4:41 mark. DiSibio and d'Entremont ended that run with one layup each, as the Generals finished the first half on a high note, shooting 3-of-5 from the field and holding the Jackets to 2-of-7 in the final four and a half minutes of the period.
TOP PERFORMERS:
d'Entremont led all W&L scorers with 25 points, which came on a 5-of-10 shooting performance from the field and 15-of-15 at the free throw line. He added eight rebounds to his line, plus one assist and one steal. DiSibio followed with 18 points and a team-high five assists, while Loughlin made 4-of-5 three-point shots to tally 12 points. Harrell rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Pulley finished with a game-high 32 points, six rebounds and three steals, as he shot 11-of-24 from the field. Robinson came in next with 22 points, while Daniel Mbangue notched 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
d'Entremont's 25-point outing vaulted him from 1,022 career points and 28th place on the program's all-time scoring list to 1,047 points and 25th place, edging William Brueggeman '21 by two points. Next up for d'Entremont is Bob Spessard '38 at 1,120 points.
Additionally, d'Entremont's 15 makes in 15 attempts at the free throw line both marked career highs for the senior. Prior to Wednesday's game, the most made free throws in a game out of 15 attempts or more was a 15-of-16 performance by Clayton Murtha '18 on January 28, 2015. No Generals' player has posted a 15-of-15 line or better on foul shots over the last 14 seasons, and the record for most makes without a miss in program history is 18, recorded by Jay Handlan '52 on February 15, 1950.
DiSibio's 18 points also moved him up multiple spots on the program's points leaderboard. He passed Lee Marshall '57 (1,561) and Greg Bienemann '08 (1,573), and now sits in seventh place with 1,576 points. DiSibio can move into sixth place with 17 more points (Skip Lichtfuss '74).
TEAM STATS:
W&L shot 47.8 percent (22-46) from the field to RMC's 42.3 percent (30-71), and the Generals made 9-of-20 (.450) three-point shots and 25-of-36 (.694) free throws. The Yellow Jackets made 11 threes and 17 free throws, but a 22-5 advantage in offensive rebounds led to a 25-2 Randolph-Macon margin in second-chance points.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in their final home game of the regular season on Saturday, as they host Eastern Mennonite at 2:00 p.m. Prior to tip-off, the team will honor its five-member senior class.
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.
