LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team had a strong first half and closed the game on a 19-8 run to post a 77-65 win over Randolph on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Generals (13-2, 5-1 ODAC) were scorching hot out of the gates as the opening tip went right to senior Colin Ryan who scored the opening points just five seconds in. W&L made nine of its first 10 shots from the field across the first seven minutes of play to lead by a score of 22-12.
- The WildCats (4-11, 0-6 ODAC) had their first run of the day at 10-1 over the next four minutes to get back within a point, but the Blue and White responded with 11 consecutive points and closed the first half on a 17-4 run for a 40-26 halftime lead.
- Despite no scoring run longer than six straight points, the WildCats slowly chipped away at the W&L lead over the first 13 minutes of the second half. In that time, they made 11-of-19 shots, while holding the Generals to 6-of-19, to make it a 58-57 W&L lead with 6:45 left in regulation.
- Randolph went scoreless over the next two and a half minutes while the Generals got four points at the free throw line. An Aveion Tucker triple at the 4:14 mark made it a two-point game, but W&L answered with an A.J. Thomas layup, a John Loughlin three and a dunk from Thomas on consecutive possessions to send Holekamp Gym into a frenzy and force a Randolph timeout.
- Tucker nailed another three out of the stoppage at 2:04, but W&L went on to score the next eight points to secure the win.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- Sophomore Connor Amorosi led the W&L offense with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. First-year Addison Newkirk followed with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3-4 3pt FG), with seven boards and three steals.
- Loughlin connected on 4-of-8 three-point shots, plus a couple of free throws, to finish with 14 points, while Thomas added 10 points and six rebounds to the mix. Ryan and first-year Daniel Buttemere both nearly cracked double figures with eight points each, with Ryan dishing out seven assists.
- Tucker scored a Randolph-high 14 points and had three rebounds and four assists. Viktor Parson tallied 13 points, while Khalil Caple (11) and Chase Depriest (10) rounded out the top scorers.
- Stacy Byrd was the game's top rebounder, securing 10 boards in 24 minutes.
TEAM STATS:
- The Generals shot 50 percent (15-30) in the second half to the WildCats' 35.7 percent (10-28), before the teams flipped in the second half – 35.7 percent (10-28) for the Generals and 51.9 percent (14-27) for Randolph. In total, Randolph made 43.6 percent (24-55) field goals to 43.1 percent (25-58) for W&L.
- W&L turned the ball over just six times in the game, while forcing 13 from the WildCats. It is the 10th game this season in which the Generals have forced more turnovers than they have committed. They are 10-0 in those games.
- Randolph held a slight 37-36 edge in rebounds, but the Generals had more offensive rebounds (7-6). The WildCats outscored the Blue and White in second-chance points (8-5), but the Generals were the top team in points off turnovers (10-7) and bench points (20-17).
- Both teams were even in points in the paint (26-26) and fastbreak points (12-12).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Bridgewater College for a 7:00 p.m. opening tip-off.
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.
