BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's basketball team came away with a 69-59 win over the Bridgewater Eagles on Wednesday night, doing the bulk of their damage from long range.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Generals (14-2, 6-1 ODAC) opened the game shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from outside, across the first five and a half minutes to build a 16-8 lead.
- Neither team went on any lengthy scoring runs in the first half, with the Generals' 8-0 run to end the period the longest for either side. Out of W&L's 15 made field goals in the first half, 10 of them were three-point shots. Sophomore Bryce Breeden and first-year Addison Newkirk led the first-half scoring with 10 points each.
- A 44-26 W&L lead entering the second half, the Eagles (6-10, 2-5 ODAC) and Generals continued their back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes of play coming out of the locker room. Bridgewater cut into the deficit by three points in that time, making 9-of-17 shots from the field to score 20 points.
- The Eagles held the Generals in check over the final 10 minutes of the game, as W&L made only two of its final 12 field goal attempts, including eight straight minutes without a made field goal. However, the Eagles only made five shots over the final nine minutes, as they were unable to overcome the Generals' strong first half.
TOP PERFORMERS:
- W&L had four players in double figures, led by senior Colin Ryan and sophomore Connor Amorosi with 15 points each. Ryan made 7-of-10 shots and added 10 rebounds and six assists, while Amorosi had four boards and four dimes.
- Newkirk and Breeden both scored 13 points. Newkirk was the team's second-leading rebounder (7), while Breeden made 4-of-7 three-point shots.
- Jahmir Brown and Kyren Smith led the Eagles' offense with 15 points apiece on a combined 14-of-28 shooting. They both also had five rebounds.
- Carter Palmer notched 10 points and made two of his three shot attempts from long range, in addition to tying with Brown and Smith for the team lead in rebounding.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ryan's six assists on the night move him six away from passing George Spears '82 for sixth place on the program's all-time list. Six more helpers would also make Ryan just the sixth player in program history with 300 in a career and the first to reach that mark since Devin Kearns '19.
TEAM STATS:
- The Generals made 41.4 percent (24-58) of their shot attempts in the game, including 12-of-32 (.375) three-point shots. Bridgewater sank 45.5 percent (25-55) of its field goal attempts, but only 4-of-16 triples to be outscored by 24 points from deep.
- W&L won the rebounding battle, 37-30, as well as the offensive rebounding margin, 14-7. That difference helped the Generals outscore the Eagles, 17-9, in second chance points.
- Wednesday's game also improved the Generals to 11-0 in games that they commit fewer turnovers than their opponents. Overall, turnovers were low for the game, but Bridgewater committed seven, while W&L had six.
- The W&L bench outscored Bridgewater's, 23-17, but the Eagles were the top scorers in points off turnovers (9-6) and points in the paint (34-24).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will have a quick turnaround for their next game, as they host Lynchburg on Friday evening 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.
