LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team was unable to overcome a sluggish start, as the Generals fell by a 72-51 final at home against No. 24 Guilford on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (3-12, 1-5 ODAC) got off to a slow start on Saturday, falling behind 10-0 across the first four minutes of play. After a timeout, first-years
Connor Amorosi and
Bryce Breeden connected on three-point shots 1:17 apart, which helped the W&L offense get going. From Amorosi's three until 5:56 remained in the first half, W&L outscored the Quakers (12-4, 6-2 ODAC), 23-17, ending in another three from Breeden to cut their deficit down to 27-23.
Guilford ended the first half on a 10-2 run and scored the first five points of the second half for an overall run of 15-2 to take a 42-25 lead with 19 minutes remaining. Amorosi then sank another shot from outside to start an 8-3 W&L scoring stretch, before the Quakers responded with a 12-3 run of their own to get their lead back to 21 points with 10 minutes left.
Over the final 10 minutes of play, neither side shot particularly efficiently (GC 4-13, W&L 3-12), which allowed Guilford to maintain its double-digit lead for the remainder of play. Guilford's smallest lead in that time was 17 points after an Amorosi layup with 8:46 left, and it led by as many as 27 points. W&L's Alex Fanney and
Dakota Gordon splashed one triple each in the final 30 seconds to close things out.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Amorosi led all Generals scorers with 10 points, followed by nine apiece from junior
Colin Ryan and Breeden. Ryan added a team-best eight rebounds and three assists, while Breeden made three of his five shots from beyond the arc. Breeden has had a hot hand from deep the last three games, making 9-of-15 (.600) three-point attempts in that stretch.
Guilford was paced by a trio of double-digit scorers, with Caleb Farrish notching a game-high 20 points plus seven rebounds. Chase Ellis finished the game with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Luke Proctor scored 11 and brought in four boards. Dawson Edwards and Bobby Samples contributed eight points each, as well.
TEAM STATS:
The Quakers shot 41.9 percent (26-62) from the field in the game and made 13-of-34 (.382) of their shots from outside, but struggled at the free throw line with a 7-of-19 performance. The Generals made 35.3 percent (18-51) of their shots, including 9-of-24 long-range attempts.
Guilford owned a 48-33 advantage in total rebounds and an 18-8 margin in offensive boards, which led to a 12-8 scoring edge in second-chance points. The Quakers also converted nine W&L turnovers into 15 points and outscored the hosts, 24-18, in the paint. The Generals held the edge in bench points, 27-15.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will get back on the road for the first time in two weeks on Wednesday when they tip-off at Eastern Mennonite 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.
