Men's Basketball Notes - Week 6
Week 5
Washington and Lee Men's Basketball (8-2, 1-1 ODAC)
Jan. 6 vs. Eastern Mennonite (9-1, 3-0)); 7:00 pm
Jan. 9 vs. Virginia Wesleyan (10-1, 2-1); 2:00 pm
Last time out • W&L 76, Emory 65
(1/3/10)
Washington and Lee connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers
and junior guard Jason Cimino led three Generals in double figures
with a career-high 17 points as W&L defeated Emory, 76-65, in
the championship game of the Washington and Lee Tournament on
Sunday evening at the Warner Center. Cimino was a perfect 4-4 from
beyond arc in notching a new personal best and, as a team the
Generals hit on 11-22 tries from distance. W&L’s previous
season-high in three’s made was six back on Dec. 2. Trailing
13-10 at the 12:41 mark of the first half, a dunk from first-year
forward J.D. Ey triggered a 17-2 run that gave the Generals a 27-15
lead with 7:21 left in the opening period. However, the Eagles went
on a 17-2 run of their own that gave them a 32-29 lead with 1:23
remaining. Cimino pulled W&L to within two points (32-30) when
he split a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left and his
three-pointer with two seconds remaining gave the Generals a 33-32
edge at the break. Emory took a 41-40 lead at the 13:42 mark of the
second half on a jumper by senior forward Anthony Fernandez, but on
the ensuing possession, W&L first-year guard Doug Poetzsch hit
his third three-pointer of the game to put W&L back on top at
43-41 and the Generals did not trail the rest of the game as they
pulled away for the win. Cimino shot 5-6 from the field and 3-4
from the line while adding five assists and was named to the
all-tournament team for his efforts. Senior forward Zac White
joined him on the all-tournament team and was named the
tournament’s MVP. White followed up Saturday’s
double-double with 14 points to go with three rebounds and three
blocked shots. Ey added 11 points and eight rebounds, while senior
forward Ben Goetsch pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds to go
with seven points.
Scouting Eastern Mennonite
Eastern Mennonite and W&L are meeting for the 76th time, with
the Generals holding a 49-26 advantage in the all-time series. The
two teams split a pair of contests last season, with each team
winning on the other’s home court. The Royals are currently
10-1 overall, 1-0 in the conference, and have been receiving votes
in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll for much of the season. In
EMU’s last game, the Royals defeated Hampden-Sydney, 88-71,
as five Royals scored in double figures led by junior forward Eli
Crawford’s 21 points. Junior wing Todd Phillips added 19
points, junior guard George Johnson tossed in 15 points, senior
guard Austin Twine added 14 points and junior wing D.J. Hinson
chipped in 10 markers. The Royals, who are the league’s
highest scoring team at 89.2 points per game, are led by Phillips
and his 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Johnson is averaging
14.9 points per game, Crawford is contributing 13.4 points and a
team-high 6.8 rebounds per game and Hinson is chipping in 13.1
points and a team-high 3.0 assists on a nightly basis.
Last time against Eastern Mennonite • Eastern
Mennonite 85, W&L 73 • 2/21/09
The Washington and Lee men’s basketball team fell to Eastern
Mennonite, 85-73, in its regular-season finale at the Warner
Center. The Royals forced W&L into 24 turnovers on the day,
including 16 in the first half, as they built a nine-point
advantage (43-34) at the break. EMU had four players score in
double figures and it shot 55.4 percent (31-56) from the floor,
including 53.8 percent from beyond the arc in posting the 12-point
win. W&L jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the 16:28 mark of the
first half, but the Royals responded with a 21-4 run to take a
23-14 lead at the 8:44 mark. Senior forward Ben Heller hit a jumper
on W&L’s next possession to pull the Generals within
seven points (23-16), but that would be as close as they would get
the rest of the game. Forward Ben Goetsch led the Generals with 14
points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night. Senior guard Craig
Sauers added a career-high 10 points, while senior forward Kirk
Jones chipped in nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Guard
D.J. Hinson led the Royals with a game-high 18 points and six
rebounds. Senior guard LeRoger Parrish added 13 points, forwards
Devon McRae and Orie Pancione chipped in 12 points apiece, and
guard George Johnson tallied 11 markers.
Scouting Virginia Wesleyan
Washington and Lee and Virginia Wesleyan are squaring off for the
46th time, with the Marlins holding a 35-10 advantage in the
all-time series. W&L has not defeated VWC since a 57-55 victory
in Virginia Beach on Dec. 2, 2001 - a span of 16 games. VWC, took a
pair of contests last season from the Generals last season,
including a thrilling 66-62 decision in the ODAC championship game
last season. The Marlins are ranked No. 18 in the most recent
D3hoops.com poll and enter the week with a 10-1 overall record and
a 2-1 ledger in league play. Most recently, the Marlins rallied
from a 10-point deficit in the first half to post a 77-73 win over
Bridgewater. Senior guard Stephen Fields led the way with a
career-high 28 points, including 15 in the final 7:29 of the game.
Sophomore forward Donald Vaughn added 21 points and a career-high
13 rebounds in the victory. On the season, the Marlins are led by
Fields, who is the league’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per
game. Vaughn is averaging 17.0 points per game, good for 10th in
the league, as well as 9.0 rebounds per game. Fields is also
chipping in 3.7 assists per game, which is the third-best mark in
the ODAC.
Last time against Virginia wesleyan • Va. Wes. 66,
W&L 62 • 3/1/09
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 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) halftime, but began the second stanza with a 15-6
run to make it a 46-42 game with 12:14 remaining. The Marlins
(17-12) 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 shot 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. Guard Stephen Fields led the Marlins with 21 points on
8-of-14 shooting from the field. He also dished out five assists
and forward Quantrell Simmons added 14 points.
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH
W&L is 38-6 in its last 44 games when leading at the break and
has compiled a 72-28 (.714) record over the past 11 years when it
leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 95 games during that
stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in just
over 75 percent of their wins during the last 11 years.
Leading the way
With a career scoring average of 5.8 points per game entering the
season, it may be a bit strange to see senior forward Ben Goetsch
among the ODAC leaders in scoring with a robust 17.6 points per
game average. However, it seems as though it may just be a matter
of opportunity. Goetsch is a career 49.1 percent shooter from the
floor and is averaging a shade over 13 shot attempts per game this
season. As a junior, Goestch took an average of 8.1 shots per game
en route to posting a 9.7 ppg average. He took just 2.5 shot
attempts per contest over his first two seasons combined.
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 already posted games of 29 points, 27 points, 23
points, 21 points and 20 points this season and W&L has already
had an individual reach at least 20 points on seven different
occasions, eclipsing the six 20-point games from a season ago.
Home cooking
It should come as no surprise that W&L has posted a 3-0 record
coming out of the holiday break. All three of Washington and
Lee’s games were home games against non-conference foes.
Including a 5-0 mark this season, W&L has posted a 17-2 record
in such games since 2006. W&L went 5-1 in non-conference home
games last season, 3-0 in 2007-08 and 4-1 in 2006-07. It’s
unfortunate that the Generals will not be able to add to that mark
as they have just one remaining non-conference game, a road date
with Methodist on Jan. 13.
Sluggish starts
W&L has been prone to getting off to slow starts this season
as evidenced by its 19-point first half against Bridgewater and a
20-point first period against Case Western. On the season, the
Generals average just 28.1 points per game in the first half, but
they outscore their opponent by an average of 37.7-33.3 in the
second half.
Cold as ice
As a team, W&L is hitting on 69.7 percent (62-89) of its
free-throws taken in “crunch time”, compared to just
59.6 percent (84-141) of its attempts in the first 35 minutes of
the game. Senior forward Ben Goetsch has shown the greatest
improvement in the last five minutes. He is connecting on 65.2
percent (15-23) of his charity tosses in the final five minutes,
but just 47.4 percent (18-38) of his tries in the first 35
minutes.
Cold as ice II
If W&L has had a tough time connecting on free throws in the
first 35 minutes of games, the Generals have had an even more
difficult time hitting their three-point attempts at any point in
the game. W&L is hitting just 27.0 percent (44-163) of its
attempts from distance and has made at least five triples in just
three games thus far. Last season, W&L connected on 34.2
percent (156-456) of its three-point tries and averaged 5.4 three
pointers made per game.
Quantity not Quality
Despite the aformentioned difficulty of hitting free throws,
W&L has made up for it in the sheer number of charity tosses it
has had in relation to its opponents. The Generals have attempted
230 free throws as a team and have made 146 of their attempts which
is more than their opponents have even attempted (135). This
disparity was on full display in the Generals’ recent win
over Ferrum in which W&L was 17-22 from the charity strip while
the Panthers attempted just nine free throws, connecting on six of
them.
Crash the boards
On the season, the Generals are sporting a rebounding average of
36.8 rpg, while allowing just 33.7 rpg to their opponents. Over the
last three games however, the Generals have been even more dominant
averaging 33.3 rebounds while only allowing their opponents 25.0
boards per game. Additionally, W&L is averaging 14.0 offensive
rebounds per game over the last three contests, compared to just
7.0 offensive boards for its opponents. Senior forward Ben Goetsch
leads the ODAC with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game and he is
second in the league with 10.0 rebounds per game. He recently
pulled down 18 rebounds in a 76-65 win over Emory, the highest
total by a W&L player since Brian Ricketts grabbed 21 boards
against Lynchburg in 2000.
Something’s gotta give
Washington and Lee is currently the stingiest defense in the ODAC,
allowing an average of just 65.8 points per game. This week, the
Generals take on the two of the highest scoring teams in the league
in Eastern Mennonite (89.1 ppg., 1st) and Virginia Wesleyan (77.3
ppg., 5th). The Marlins’ senior guard Stephen Fields is the
league’s most prolific scorer at 20.5 points per game and EMU
junior wing Todd Phillips is fourth in the ODAC with an average of
19.0 points per game. The Royals also lead the league in three
pointers made with 85 (8.5 per game) and steals (114, 11.4 per
game).
Happy Holidays Indeed
Often the Holiday Break is a chance for players to get home to see
their families and recharge their batteries so to speak and
it seems that several of W&L’s upperclassmen charged
their batteries with a little something extra. Senior forwards Zac
White and Ben Goetsch and junior guard Jason Cimino have posted
three outstanding games apiece since returning to campus. Cimino is
averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 assists on 8-15 shooting from the
floor (including 5-9 from deep) and 13-14 shooting from the line.
White has averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per
game. He also tallied his first career double-double (16 pts., 10
reb.) against Swarthmore. Goetsch has averaged 12.3 points and 12.3
rebounds, including a career-high 18 rebounds against Emory.
Rank and file
With the Generals hosting EMU and VWC this week, W&L has an
opportunity to extend its modest two-game winning streak against
ranked opponents. W&L is 2-0 in its last two games against
teams ranked in the Top 25, having knocked off Roanoke (No. 18) and
Guilford (No. 19) last season. The Marlins enter the week ranked
18th in the latest Top 25 poll and EMU has been receiving votes all
season and may crack the Top 25 when the poll is released later
this week.
