LYNCHBURG, Va. – Junior
Colin Ryan hit a game-winning layup with 0.1 seconds left, with classmate
A.J. Thomas scoring 17 points over the final nine minutes of play, as the Washington and Lee men's basketball team won a thriller over Lynchburg, 74-73, on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Hornets (10-8, 4-5 ODAC) leading by seven points with six minutes left, Thomas connected on his first of four threes in a three-minute span to lead a 14-7 W&L (5-12, 3-5 ODAC) run and tie the game at 69 with under three minutes to play. After two buckets from Lynchburg's Jamarcus Brown, W&L first-year
Bryce Breeden kept the Generals alive with a three with 34 seconds left to get it back to a one-point game.
On the ensuing Lynchburg possession, Michael Gray missed a three, but the Hornets retained possession and drew a foul to send Jake Hart to the line. Hart missed his chance, and Breeden came down with the board to get the Generals a shot. Following a timeout, the inbounds pass came to Ryan at the top of the Hornets' three-point line. Ryan raced up the floor, hit his defender with a hesitation move, stepped to his left, absorbed some contact and finished the layup with 0.1 seconds left. The final inbound was the broken up by Thomas to cap off the win.
The Generals opened the game with a 9-3 lead through 3:15 of action, and later had senior
Thomas Feigin post a 9-0 run himself on three triples for a 22-9 advantage at the 11:29 mark. The Hornets closed the half on a 17-8 run, however, and proceeded to take a four-point lead with a 13-5 run through the first two and half minutes of the second half.
W&L stayed with the Hornets and regained a one-point lead with 11:57 remaining on a Thomas free throw, before Lynchburg responded with nine straight points to take its largest lead of the game with 9:20 remaining. That's where Thomas began to heat up for W&L, as two free throws came at 9:04, followed by his final 15 points over the remaining 7:34 to help W&L complete the comeback.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Thomas paced all players with a game-high 23 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Thomas made 7-of-13 shots overall and 6-of-10 from outside. Ryan finished with 12 points and added seven rebounds and nine assists, while first-year
Connor Amorosi followed Thomas with 14 points and a team-best nine boards. Feigin rounded out the Generals' four players in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.
Gray scored 20 to lead all Hornets players on the day, with 16 points coming from Van Nellessen and 11 from Brown. Jake Hart posted a double-double on 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
TEAM STATS:
The Generals connected on 46.6 percent (27-58) of their field goal attempts, including 45.5 percent of their triples. They made a season-high 15 threes, the most in a game since February 15, 2023, against Randolph (17), with 9-of-19 second-half attempts dropping in. Lynchburg made 41.7 percent (25-60) of its shots but struggled from outside at 25.9 percent (7-27).
The Hornets held positive scoring margins in points off turnovers (13-7), second-chance points (9-2), bench points (26-14), points in the paint (30-22) and fastbreak points (19-7).
UP NEXT:
W&L Men's Basketball will return to the court on Wednesday when they host Bridgewater at 7:30 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.
