LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team stayed with No. 10 Hampden-Sydney for nearly all 40 minutes, but a late Tigers run helped them pull away to defeat the Generals, 69-59, on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a first half that saw neither team able to score more than two consecutive field goals, Hampden-Sydney's Adam Brazil sank a turnaround jumper to not only give his side a two-point halftime lead, but start an overall 15-3 run until 9:53 remained in regulation. With the Generals down a game-high 12 points and needing a spark, first-year
Bryce Breeden and junior
John Loughlin connected on back-to-back threes to cut their deficit in half.
The Generals continued to battle the Tigers, steadily gaining ground until two more threes from Loughlin went down at the 3:55 and 2:57 marks to leave H-SC up, 57-55. Brazil responded for the Tigers with a three of his own, before two Nick Shryock layups sandwiched around a Breeden free throw allowed the Tigers to regain an eight-point lead with 95 seconds left.
First-year
Connor Amorosi splashed a turnaround jumper on the ensuing W&L possession, but another Hampden-Sydney triple, this time from Shryock, fell on the other end with 51 seconds left to put the game away for the Tigers.
Hampden-Sydney had an early 8-2 lead through three minutes of play before Amorosi and Breeden nailed consecutive three-point jumpers to tie the game. After that, neither team led by more than two points at any time in the first half, until Brazil made a layup and a free throw with 50 seconds before halftime for a 33-30 Tigers lead. That advantage was short-lived, however, as Loughlin got his first three of the game to drop on the next possession to tie the score.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Amorosi finished with a W&L high 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor, followed by a season-high 15 points from Breeden, who made 5-of-7 shots and 4-of-6 from outside. Breeden also came down with five rebounds, one block and two steals. Loughlin ended the night with 12 points on four three pointers, while junior
Colin Ryan nearly produced his second triple-double of the season with seven points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Brazil scored a game-high 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and came away with three steals, while Travis Stickney contributed 11 points, five boards and three thefts. John Campbell followed with 10 points, with another nine points and three rebounds coming from Peter Moye.
NOTEWORTHY POINTS:
Wednesday's loss snapped a seven-game home winning streak for the Generals over the Tigers. Despite a 1-3 record in the last four meetings overall, the Generals have held their own against the 2024 national runner-up's in that time. Three of those meetings have come in the regular season, and each has been decided by 10 points or fewer.
TEAM STATS:
The Tigers (.403) and Generals (.385) shot similar field goal percentages on the night, with the Blue and White connecting on 10-of-30 three-point shots to just 6-of-26 from the visitors. Hampden-Sydney went to the free throw line 20 times and made 13 shots to 9-of-17 from W&L.
Hampden-Sydney also held a decided advantage in points in the paint (34-10), plus a 14-7 edge in second-chance points. The Generals' bench outscored the Tigers', 22-18.
UP NEXT:
The Generals' next game will conclude their three-game homestand, as they host No. 24 Guilford on Saturday at 2:00 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.
