LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team secured its first 5-0 start to a season in 15 years on Tuesday afternoon in a 76-63 win over Southern Virginia, in what was also W&L's first home game of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Generals (5-0) had the upper hand early, as they bolted out to a 20-9 lead through eight and a half minutes. They sank 8-of-14 shots from the field, with sophomore Bryce Breeden leading with six points on a pair of triples.
- The remainder of the first half saw competitive back-and-forth between both teams, with Southern Virginia (1-4) making 10-of-13 shots to close the half to stay within striking distance (42-34) at the break.
- Senior John Loughlin buried a three for the Generals on the opening possession of the second half, but SVU slowly fought back to make it a 58-54 game with just over nine minutes to play.
- On the ensuing possession, first-year Addison Newkirk got two free throws to fall, followed by a huge three to fuel a 13-1 W&L run to push the Generals back up to a 71-55 advantage with four minutes left.
- Despite the Knights outscoring the Generals the final four minutes, SVU was limited to just four shot attempts in that time, as W&L held strong to close out the win.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- Sophomore Connor Amorosi led all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, to go along with five rebounds. Newkirk tallied an early-season high of 18 points (6-13 FG), plus five boards, four assists and a team-best four steals.
- Senior Colin Ryan posted his third double-double of the season behind 13 points (5-9 FG) and 12 rebounds, with a team-high five assists. Loughlin and Breeden both ended the game with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from outside.
- Hyrum McConkie paced the Knights with 19 points (8-10 FG) and eight rebounds, followed by 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from Ashton Davis. DJ Green added 12 points on the offensive end, plus four boards and three dimes.
TEAM STATS:
- The Generals shot 43.8 percent (28-64) in the game and were above 40 percent in both halves. They made 9-of-30 (.300) three-point shots and 11-of-14 (.786) foul shots.
- A field goal percentage of 0.667 in the first half helped keep the Knights close, but they were limited to just 35.7 percent (10-28) shooting in the second half. SVU was held to 26.3 percent (5-19) from long range, but made 10-of-11 free throws.
- W&L won the rebounding battle (36-28) and also committed five fewer turnovers (11) than the Knights (16). The Generals' rebounding included a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, which led to a 19-10 margin in second-chance points.
- The Generals held additional scoring advantages in points off turnovers (21-14), bench points (16-14) and points in the paint (34-30).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will break for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action on Wednesday, December 3, to host Averett at 7:00 p.m., their first ODAC game of the season.
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.
