W&L Men's Basketball Game Notes - ODAC Tournament

Generals’ Hoops Report
Games this week:
GM 26: ODAC Play-in game
No. 6 W&L (16-9, 8-8) vs. No. 11 Emory & Henry (4-21, 2-14) Tuesday - 7:00 pm

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Last time out • No. 12 Eastern mennonite 83, W&L 62 • 2/20/10
Twelfth-ranked Eastern Mennonite used a 21-7 run in the first half to pull away for an 83-62 win over Washington and Lee on Saturday evening at Yoder Arena. The Generals trailed just 14-11 with 10:27 left in the first half following a dunk by first-year forward J.D. Ey. However, the Royals used their decisive run to produce a 35-18 lead with 3:45 left in the first half en route to carrying a 42-28 lead into the halftime break. W&L scored the first two baskets of the second half to pull within 10 points (42-32) with 18:35 left in the contest, but the Royals pushed back out to a 15-point lead (47-32) following a three-pointer by junior guard D.J. Hinson at the 17:48 mark. EMU carried a double-digit lead throughout the second half in posting the 21-point victory. Eastern Mennonite shot 50.0 percent (32-64) from the floor and hit 10 three-pointers (10-28) in the contest. W&L shot just 31.8 percent (21-66) from the field and was successful on just 1-of-11 (.091) attempts from beyond the arc. The Generals were led by senior forward Ben Goetsch, who totaled a game-high 21 points and six rebounds. First-year guard Jeremy Adkins posted 12 points and nine boards, while senior forward Andrew Payne chipped in 12 points and four boards. The Royals were paced by junior forward Orie Pancione’s 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. Junior guard George Johnson notched 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Hinson logged 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Todd Phillips added 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Scouting Emory & Henry
The Wasps and Generals are meeting for the third time this season and the 97th time overall. The Generals hold a 58-38 advantage in the all-time series and have already defeated E&H twice this season. Tuesday’s contest is a rematch of last season’s ODAC play-in game in which W&L rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat E&H, 84-81, in overtime. The Wasps enter the week with an overall record of 4-21 and they finished the season with an ODAC-record of 2-14, with both wins coming in their last five contests. Most recently, the Wasps defeated Roanoke, 96-91, as they connected on 14-of-29 three-point attempts. Junior forward Terrance Grigg led four E&H players in double figures with a game-high 25 points, while adding 10 rebounds. Junior guard Josh Rigney added 24 points, first-year forward Noah Hayden chipped in 13 points and senior guard J.D. Dyson tallied 15 points, 12 assists and five steals. The 12 assists were the most by any player in the ODAC this season. On the season, Grigg leads the way with averages of 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Dyson chips in 14.1 points and 3.6 assists per contest. As a team, the Wasps allow a league-high 86.2 points per game and they have attempted 643 three pointers on the season (.345, 222-643), which is the most in the league.

Last time against E&H • W&L 77, E&H 58 • 2/3/10
Washington and Lee outscored Emory & Henry 24-6 over the first 9:29 of the second half, and held the Wasps to 30.9 percent shooting on the night in posting a 77-58 win at the Warner Center. Following an evenly played first stanza that saw the Generals hold a 28-25 advantage at the break, W&L forced six E&H turnovers and limited the Wasps to 21.4 percent (3-14) shooting during the decisive run to open up a 21-point lead (52-31) with 10:31 to play. The Generals had four players reach double figures in scoring for the first time all season. Senior forwards Zac White and Ben Goetsch each scored 14 points, while first-year guard Jeremy Adkins added 11 markers and junior guard Jason Cimino chipped in 10 points. Goetsch also grabbed 10 rebounds to post his sixth double-double of the season. White added five boards, four blocks and two steals, while Adkins grabbed eight rebounds and senior forward Andrew Payne tallied nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high five assists. Emory & Henry was paced by senior guard J.D. Dyson, who tallied a game-high 19 points on 7-11 shooting, including 3-4 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Bobby Stafford scored 10 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out five assists .

Last time against E&H in the ODAC Tournament • W&L 84, E&H 81 (OT) • 2/24/09
Senior guard Chris McHugh scored 21 points and connected on the game-tying three pointer with 34 seconds left to force overtime, where Washington and Lee connected on 8-of-12 free throws to defeat Emory & Henry, 84-81, in the play-in round of the ODAC Tournament at the Warner Center. After racing out to a 17-3 lead with 12:34 left in the first period, the Generals were outscored 23-7 over the next 6:46 as the Wasps assumed a 26-24 lead at the 5:49 mark and would extend their lead to 11 points (41-30) at the break. In the second half, W&L began chipping away at the Emory & Henry lead and a layup by senior forward Ben Heller pulled the Generals even (56-56) with 8:42 showing on the clock. Heller would give W&L its first second-half lead (59-58) when he connected on a free throw less than a minute later. Emory & Henry regained the lead, and W&L managed to tie it on three occasions in the final five minutes, including McHugh’s three. In the overtime period, forward Zac White connected on 5-of-6 free throws and came up with a key steal with 13 seconds left to help preserve W&L’s first postseason win since 2000. Heller scored 17 points and added a career-high 12 rebounds in collecting his first career double-double. Senior guard Isaiah Goodman added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Last time in the ODAC Tournament • VWC 66, W&L 62 • 3/1/09
Eighth-seeded Washington and Lee battled back from a 16-point first half deficit to pull within one point in the final minute, but could not take the lead as seventh-seeded Virginia Wesleyan pulled out a 66-62 victory in the championship game of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament at the Salem Civic Center. The Generals trailed by 13 points (40-27) at the halftime break, but began the second stanza with a 15-6 run to make it a 46-42 game with 12:14 remaining. The Marlins pulled back out to a 51-42 lead with 10:04 left, but W&L closed it to a one-point game (53-52) with 7:09 remaining. The Generals remained within striking distance the rest of the way, cutting it to a one-point game twice in the final minute (61-60 at 0:30 and 63-62 at 0:21), but W&L managed to shoot just 3-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 1:40. The Generals had one last shot to tie the game with three seconds remaining, but forward Ben Goetsch’s layup would not fall and the Marlins held on for the victory. For the game, W&L shot just 16-of-29 (.552) from the free throw line, but the Generals held a 37-31 edge on the boards and committed just 12 turnovers. Virginia Wesleyan shot 52.9 percent (27-51) from the field, including 56.7 percent (17-30) in the first half. Washington and Lee was led by Goetsch, who tied a then-career-high with 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Isaiah Goodman tallied 11 points, while senior forward Ben Heller totaled eight points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds. Both Goetsch and Goodman were named to the all-tournament team. Guard Stephen Fields led the Marlins with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. He also dished out five assists. Forward Quantrell Simmons added 14 points.

Century Mark
With the Generals’ 18-point victory over Randolph, head coach Adam Hutchinson notched the  100th victory in his career. He currently holds a career record of 104-173 and his record at W&L stands at 71-107, including 47-33 over the last three seasons. His 71 wins currently place him fourth all-time in wins at Washington and Lee. Verne Canfield, who coached at W&L for 31 years, heads the list with 460 wins all-time.

STRONG START = STRONG FINISH
W&L is 45-8 (.846) in its last 53 games when leading at the break and has compiled a 79-30 (.722) record over the past 11 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 102 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in over 75 percent of their wins during the last 11 years.

W&L in the ODAC Tournament
The Generals have posted a 19-22 record all-time in the ODAC Tournament and have claimed three titles, with the last coming in 1980. Last season’s trio of victories in the tournament marked the Generals’ first postseason wins since the 2000 season and their appearance in the ODAC Chamionship game was their first since 1989 and their seventh overall (3-4).

Hit on 20
Entering this season, senior forward Ben Goetsch had never recorded a 20-point game, with 19 being his career high. However, Goetsch has posted games of 29 points, 27 points, 24 points, 23 points, 21 points (on three occasions) and 20 points this season and W&L has already had an individual reach at least 20 points on 11 different occasions, eclipsing the six 20-point games from a season ago. W&L is currently 5-3 when he scores 20 points of more. Goetsch tallied 21 points in Saturday’s loss to EMU, breaking a streak of 11 consecutive games where he did not reach the 20-point plateau.

Double Trouble
Prior to this season, senior forward Ben Goetsch had recorded just one double-double. In this, his final campign, Goetsch has notched seven double-doubles, which is tied for the second-most in the league  behind the 22 double-doubles posted by Guilford’s Tyler Sanborn. Goetsch is also second in the league with eight double-digit rebound games, trailing only Sanborn (22).

Four score
Junior guard Jason Cimino, who is averaging 3.7 assists per contest, has recorded four or more helpers on 14 occasions this season and has already racked up 92 assists, far surpassing the 34 dimes he dropped as a sophomore. In fact, Cimino’s 92 assists are more more than he racked up in his first two seasons combined (89) and he has an outside shot to become the first General to reach 100 assists in a single season since Mike Holton ‘91 registered 113 in the 1990-91 campaign. This season, when Cimino passes out at least four helpers, the Generals have posted a record of 11-3.

Defensive Prowess
The Generals are currently allowing a league-low 63.6 points per game and, as of the latest NCAA Division III rankings, the Generals were 20th in the country in points allowed with a total of 61.6 ppg. William Patterson leads Div. III with 53.8 points allowed per game. Additionally, W&L tops the ODAC and ranks 32nd in Div. III in three-point field goal defense. Opponents are connecting on just 30.1 percent (130-432) of their attempts from long range this season.

Stat stuffer
Senior forward Zac White is perhaps the most versatile player on the Generals’ roster and the numbers back that up. White, who is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.1 rpg), is also the only General to average at least one block, one assist and one steal per game. White currently leads the team in blocks (53) and steals (34), and is third in assists (28).

Four or more score
In the Generals’ win over E&H last week, W&L had four different players reach double-figures in scoring  for the first time this season. Last season, W&L had four players record 10+ points on five different occasions, posting a 5-0 record in those contests. Prior to last week’s game, that last time that four different Generals registered 10 or more points was in a 77-67 win over Bridgewater in the semifinal round of the ODAC Tournament on Feb. 28, 2009.

70 Points
W&L has won three of its last five contests and in each of the wins, the Generals have scored at least 70 points. Quite an accomplishment when one considers that W&L is the ODAC’s lowest-scoring team at 63.3 points per game. Prior to those three wins, W&L had scored 70 or more points just four times in the season’s first 20 games. Over the last four seasons, the Generals are 38-6 when scoring at least 70 points.

Sharing the Load
W&L has shared the responsibilty of the scoring this season. When at least three players notch 10 points, W&L is a remarkable 10-2. Conversely, when two or fewer W&L players record at least 10 points, the Generals are just 5-7. The Generals have had 57 double-digit scoring perfomances this season, accomplished by eight different players. Last season, W&L posted a 10-7 record in games in which three or more players scored at least 10 points and the Generals had 11 different players manage the feat a total of 72 times.

Add ‘em up
On the year, first-year guard Jeremy Adkins is averaging a modest 7.2 points per game on 43.9 percent (61-139) shooting from the floor. However, since entering the starting lineup against Randolph-Macon on Jan. 27, he has averaged 12.2 points on 45.8 percent (44-96) shooting, including a career-high 23 points against the Roanoke on Feb. 17. In nine starts, he has registered at least 10 points in six of those contests and he also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the Generals loss to EMU on Saturday.

five alive
Junior guard Jason Cimino has put together a career year thus far. Cimino has already notched new single-game career-highs in points (17) and steals (6) and tied his assist mark (7). He has also upped his per game average in nearly every statistic across the board and is on pace to record more points and assists this season than he did in his first two campaigns combined. He currently ranks in the Top 5 in the ODAC in assist/turnover ratio (1st, 1.8), free-throw percentage (3rd, .859) and assists per game (5th, 3.7). Here is a brief look at Cimino’s career averages compared to his 2009-10 output.

Year(s)         GP    PPG    APG    A/TO    RPG    SPG    FT%       

2007-2009    54    2.8      1.6    1.1      1.7      0.7    .672
2009-2010    23    6.5      3.7    1.8      2.4      1.3    .859

Dialing long Distance
The Generals are averaging 4.6 three pointers made per game as a team and have connected on just 115 trifectas for the season. W&L connected on a season-high 13 triples in a recent loss to Guilford, which was one fewer than it had connected on in its previous three games combined. Last season, W&L made 156 three pointers, the most since it had made since draining 175 in the 1991-92 campaign.


They are “Free” after all
Junior guard Jason Cimino is currently hitting on 85.9 percent (55-64) of his free throws this season, which is good for third in the ODAC. He has a chance to finish the season as the most prolific W&L free throw shooter over the course of an entire season. John Mumper ‘08 currently holds the single-season free-throw percentage mark at 87.0 percent (47-54). Cimino would need to make good on his next six attempts from the chaity stripe to surpass the mark set by Mumper.

S.W.A.T TEAM
Senior forward Zac White has become W&L’s very own SWAT team. White, who is second in the ODAC and 27th in Div. III in blocked shots (2.2 per game), has 53 blocks on the season, which is more than Hampden-Sydney (42), Emory & Henry (40) and Randolph (30) have as a team. In fact, White tied the W&L single-game block record when he rejected a career-high seven shots against Lynchburg in a 71-62 win. White is currently fourth all-time at W&L with 102 career blocks.

EYE ON THE PRIZE
First-year forward J.D. Ey has been playing some of his best ball of late. Ey, who was recently reinserted into the starting lineup after coming off the bench for eight games, posted career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (9) in W&L’s recent win over Bridgewater. Over the past six games (5 starts), Ey has averaged 6.5 points and 7.5 boards. For the year, Ey is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game and is also averaging 5.8 points per game. He is also 10th in the ODAC in offensive rebounds with 50.

.500 or Bust
W&L completed the regular season with an ODAC-record of 8-8, marking first time that Washington and Lee has finished the regular season with at least a .500 record in league play since 2006-07 (11-7) and just the second time since 1989-90 (8-8). Since the 1976-77 season, the Generals have finished ODAC-play with a .500 or better record on 14 occasions. Additionally, with one more win the Generals will reach 17 wins, which would be the most wins in a single season since the 1988-89 team finished 20-7. With their recent success, the men’s basketball has crept towards the .500 mark as a program all-time. The Generals’ all-time record currently stands at 1,081-1,082-1 (.499).

ROAD WARRIORS
Washington and Lee finished 7-4 on the road this season, including 5-3 in league play, and has posted a winning road ledger for the first time since logging a 6-4 road record during the 1986-87 season. The seven road wins are the most since W&L won eight games away from the Warner Center during the 1977-78 season.