GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team got 22 points from sophomore
Connor Amorosi and a double-double from senior
Colin Ryan to post an 88-63 win against Salisbury on Friday night to kick-off the season at the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Generals (1-0) raced out to a 12-0 lead across the first four minutes, led by seven points from Ryan. W&L continued to shoot well in the first half, going 9-of-17 over the next 13 minutes to build a 34-18 lead, before scoring eight of the final 10 points before the break.
- Leading by a 42-20 score at the half, the Generals finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 55.2 percent (16-29) from the floor, while holding the Sea Gulls to 28 percent (7-25). Ryan led the way in the first half with 13 points (6-6 FG), three boards and six assists, plus another nine points and four rebounds from Amorosi.
- The second half was much more evenly matched, with the longest sustained scoring run being 6-0, twice from Salisbury and once from W&L. Tyler Ball and Jamison Graves led the Sea Gull in the second half with 15 points and 14 points, respectively, with 13 points coming from Amorosi.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- Amorosi ended the night with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and nine rebounds. Ryan followed with a 15-point, 11-assist double-double on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the floor.
- Sophomore Bryce Breeden scored 11 points and made 3-of-6 shots from outside, with senior A.J. Thomas and first-year Addison Newkirk both scoring 10 points on a combined 6-of-13 from the field. Newkirk also matched Amorosi's nine rebounds and had two steals.
- Graves paced the Salisbury offense with 18 points, with Ball right behind him at 17 points. Ball shot 5-of-8 overall, including 3-for-4 from long range, pulled in five boards and logged two steals.
- Calvin Thomas rounded out the double-digit scorers with an even 10 to go along with seven rebounds.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ryan's 11 assists were one short of his career high, which came in a triple-double last season against Piedmont.
- Friday night's 88-point performance from the Generals was tied for the second-most scored in a game over the last three seasons. A final field goal percentage of 55.0 was also the highest in a game for the team since posting a 0.579 in an 85-63 win at Averett on January 13, 2024.
TEAM STATS:
- The Generals made 33-of-60 (.550) shots from the field and made over 54 percent of their shots in both halves. They also connected on 11-of-23 (.478) three-point shots.
- Salisbury shook their shooting struggles from the first half and made 14-of-27 (.519) in the second half to finish at 40.4 percent (21-52) for the game.
- W&L held a slight advantage in rebounding (36-35) and won the turnover battle by two.
- Other scoring margins favoring the Generals included points off turnovers (19-17), second-chance points (21-10) and points in the paint (38-28). The Sea Gulls owned a 35-28 edge in bench points.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will play in the Messiah Tip-Off Championship game on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against St. Joseph's (Brooklyn).
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.
