W&L Men's Basketball Notes - Week 4

Game 6: W&L (3-2, 1-1 ODAC) at Ferrum (3-2, 1-0 USAS)
Date: Monday, December 3, 7:00 pm
Location: Ferrum, Va.
Series Record: W&L leads, 4-2

Game 7: Averett (2-2, 0-0 USAS) at W&L (3-2, 1-2 ODAC)
Date: Wednesday, December 5, 7:00 pm
Location: Lexington, Va.
Series Record: W&L leads, 7-4

Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT  •   RANDOLPH 67, W&L 52 (12/1/12)
Washington and Lee dropped its first home game to Randolph, 67-52, on Saturday at the Warner Center. The Generals shot just 31.0 percent (18-58) from the floor and 55.6 percent (10-18) from the free throw line in their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference loss of the season. Despite the poor shooting, W&L was within three, 44-41, with 11:01 left in the second half. Over the next three minutes, neither team scored a basket. The Generals missed three shots, including a Javon McDonald three-pointer that would have tied the game. W&L also had two turnovers during the stretch. The WildCats missed four shots and had one turnover as well. Randolph ended the scoring drought with two free throws by junior guard Mike Ehilegbu to inch the lead to 46-41 with 8:13 remaining. Another minute would go by before the WildCats pushed the advantage to seven, 48-41, on a layup by first-year guard Evan Horn. W&L cut the deficit to three, 54-51, with 4:08 left in the game on a couple of three-pointers by McDonald and a jumper by junior forward Jonathan Rice. It would be the closest the Generals would get as Randolph went on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 11 (62-51) with 1:14 left in the game. W&L went into foul mode to try and extend the game, but the WildCats made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the victory, 67-52. Randolph senior guard Colton Hunt led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Ehliegbu added 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting with three buckets from long distance. McDonald led the Generals with 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting. All three of his field goals came from behind the arc. Senior forward J.D. Ey led all players with nine rebounds. He also had six points, a steal and a block. First-year forward Andrew Franz was the second-highest scorer for W&L with eight points on 11 shots. He also grabbed five boards and had two steals. The WildCats shot 44.9 percent (22-49) for the game, and made a living at the foul line, going 18-of-20 (90 percent) on the day. Randolph had nine assists and 12 turnovers, while the Blue and White totaled seven assists and 16 turnovers. W&L held a slight advantage on the glass, 37-35.

LAST TIME AGAINST FERRUM  •  W&L 84, FERRUM 65 (1/21/12)
W&L shot 56.1 percent from the floor and three players scored in double figures in an 84-65 win over Ferrum on January 21, 2012. The Generals knocked down 32-of-57 shots from the field, including a 6-of-7 performance by center Drew Kimberly, in eclipsing the 50.0 percent mark for just the second time all season.  W&L opened the contest hitting six of its first nine shots from the floor, including three buckets from forward J.D. Ey in opening a 10-point lead (14-4) by the 16:12 mark. The Blue and White still led by 10 points (19-9), before Ferrum used a 9-0 run behind four points apiece from senior guard Marcus Mayo and forward Lamont King to pull to within a single point (19-18) with 9:20 to play in the opening period. The Panthers then tied the contest at 23-23 at the 7:00 minute mark on a triple by senior guard Daryl Hart, before W&L ended the first half on a 22-10 scoring run, capped by a long three from forward Jeremy Adkins at the buzzer, to take a 45-33 lead into the break. The Generals hit nine of their final 10 shot attempts to close out the first and six different players scored during the run. A layup by Kimberly to start the second period put W&L up 14 points (47-33), and the lead never dipped below 13 as Washington and Lee cruised to the 19-point win. The Generals limited Ferrum to 41.5 percent (22-53) shooting, held a 36-30 edge on the boards and forced the Panthers into 18 turnovers. Kimberly paced W&L with a career-high 14 points. Guard Javon McDonald added 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Ey totaled 12 points, tied a career-high with seven assists, blocked five shots and grabbed five rebounds. Forward Larry Whitaker added nine points and six rebounds and Adkins chipped in nine points, four boards and a pair of assists. Mayo led all scorers with 17 points, but was held to just 5-of-15 shooting and committed six turnovers. Hart finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting and King had nine points and a game-high seven rebounds before fouling out. 

SCOUTING FERRUM
The Panthers are 3-2 after coming from behind to win at Greensboro on Saturday, 65-63. Ferrum trailed by seven points, 57-50, with just over six minutes remaining in the contest. The Panthers outscored the Pride, 15-6, in the final minutes to secure the victory. Sophomore forward Jamal Pullen totaled 18 points, and first-year guard J.D. Wallace added 14. Senior guard Marshall Hamilton and first-year guard Alek Ayer had nine points each in the win, while senior forward Lamont King notched eight points. Wallace had five assists, and Ayer blocked three shots. On the season, Pullen leads the team at 17.2 points per game with King averaging 11.2. King leads the team at 5.0 rebounds per game, while Hamilton averages a team-best 3.2 assists per game. The Panthers score 71.8 points per game, while allowing 74.6 points-against. W&L leads the all-time series, 4-2. The teams first met on December 31, 2007 at the Warner Center with the Generals earning a 71-67 victory. Ferrum earned its first win in the series a year later at Lexington, 59-44. The Blue and White won last year's game, 84-65, on January 21, 2012. The Generals are 1-1 all-time at Ferrum with the last game coming in 2010. The Panthers won the contest, 78-70.

LAST TIME AGAINST AVERETT  •  W&L 87, AVERETT 78 (11/27/10)
Washington and Lee connected on 11 three pointers and committed just four turnovers in posting an 87-78 win over Averett on November 27, 2010, at the Warner Center. W&L hit 10-of-16 attempts from distance in the game's first 20 minutes and finished the game 11-for-23 from behind the arc. Guard Jon Guest began the three-point barrage with a triple at the 18:14 mark that gave W&L a 7-2 lead. The Generals would then connect on treys on 4-of-5 possessions, capped by sophomore forward Hans Harris' third made triple of the first half at the 12:38 mark that gave the Generals a 23-15 lead. Averett then reeled off a 15-5 scoring run, capped by a triple from junior guard Victor Cortes that gave the Cougars a 30-28 lead with 6:12 left in the opening half. However, back-to-back threes from Harris and guard Kevin Gill pushed W&L back in front, 34-30, and the Generals would maintain that four-point advantage at the break, 45-41. W&L opened the second half on a 13-6 scoring run to assume a 58-47 lead on a Harris layup with 15:46 to play, but AU cut into the Generals' lead and pulled to within four points (63-59) on a pair of free throws from junior forward Kenny Hart. Forward Jonathan Rice responded with a three-point play to put the Generals back up seven points (66-59) and W&L never led by less than seven the rest of the way. W&L shot 47.7 percent (31-65) from the floor and 58.3 percent (58.3) from the foul line, while also posting 19 assists to just four turnovers. The Generals first turnover of the game did not come until the 12:26 mark of the second half. Harris led the Generals with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Guest added 14 points and center Taylor Gilfillan chipped in a career-high 11 points. Forward J.D. Ey grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points, six assists and two blocks. Cortes led Averett with 20 points as the Cougars shot an even 50.0 percent (30-60) from the field. Center Nick Ford had 14 points, Hart added 13 and sophomore guard Steven Terry registered 12 markers. Cortes, Hart, Ford, and center Paul Porter all had six rebounds as the Cougars outrebounded the Generals 42-29.

SCOUTING AVERETT
The Cougars are 2-2 this season, but haven't played since November 26 when they lost at home to Lynchburg, 82-69. Austin Chillemi and Manny Hernandez led Lynchburg with 22 points and 21 points, respectively. Chillemi added 15 rebounds. Xavier Parham added 16 points and five steals for the Hornets. Averett was led by senior guard Marquis Scott's 18 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Justin Pierce added 15 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Sunil Ram finished with 11 points. Junior center Paul Porter notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Pierce leads the team at 20.3 points per game and Scott averages 14.0 a game. Porter averages 11.8 rebounds per game and first-year guard Trevor West dishes out 3.3 assists per game. The Cougars average 76.3 points on 37.8 percent (110-291) shooting. The Generals lead the all-time series, 7-4. The two teams first met on December 1, 1978, with W&L earning an 87-83 victory. The Blue and White are 6-1 at home with the only loss coming on November 18, 2006, 79-56. The Generals have won the last two games in the series with the last coming at home, 87-78, on November 27, 2010.

THE HEAD GENERAL
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst, '93) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. He earned his 100th victory at W&L in the season-opening win against Tufts at the John K. Adams Tip-Off Classic. He now has a 102-137 (.427) record, and is the second coach in school history to reach the 100-win plateau. Last season, Hutchinson passed Harry (Cy) Young for second all-time in coaching wins at W&L. The 2008 ODAC Coach of the Year, Hutchinson led his 2009 team to the ODAC Championship game for the first time since 1989. In his 13 seasons of coaching, Hutchinson has an overall record of 135-203 (.399).

CLEANING THE GLASS
The Generals have out-rebounded their opponents in every game this season. W&L is averaging 40.0 rebounds per game with 27.2 defensive and 12.8 offensive. The Blue and White are out-rebounding the opposition by 9.8 per game. The total rebounding mark puts the Generals third in the ODAC behind Lynchburg (44.3) and Virginia Wesleyan (43.2). W&L is led by senior forward J.D. Ey (8.8 per game) and junior forward Jonathan Rice (7.6 per game). Ey is second in the league, while Rice is fourth. Both Ey and Rice have one double-digit rebounding game and one double-double. Senior wing Andrew Thorne of Eastern Mennonite leads the conference at 9.0 per game.

WE'VE GOT OUR EY ON YOU
Senior forward J.D. Ey has picked up from where he left off last season, averaging almost a double-double this year. He is scoring 11.6 points and grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game, highlighted by his 22-point, 12-rebound outburst in the Generals' ODAC-opening win at Shenandoah. Ey is shooting 52.1 percent (25-48) from the field, 58.3 percent (7-12) from the charity stripe and 16.7 percent (1-6) from long distance. He is also getting it done on defense with 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. He has the Generals' season-high in blocks (4 vs. Tufts) and steals (3 at Rutgers-Newark). Ey is tied for second in the conference in blocks per game. Junior forward Trent Batson of Virginia Wesleyan leads the ODAC at 3.2 per game.

GILL LEADS THE WAY
Junior guard Kevin Gill has punished opposing defenses this season when they have given him an inch of space. He is fifth in the conference in three-point percentage at 52.4 (11-21). Senior guard Kwasi Amponsah of Roanoke leads the league at 59.3 percent (16-27). Gill has also notched double-digit points in three of the team's games, including 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the victory at Methodist. The point total tied his career-high. Gill is averaging 12.0 points per game. The Generals are shooting 45.8 percent (38-83) as a team from three, which leads the conference. Virginia Wesleyan is second at 41.6.

ON THE ROAD
The Generals will get used to riding a bus early this season with seven of their first nine games coming away from the Warner Center. After starting the season with three road games and one neutral-site contest, the Blue & White had its home opener against Randolph on Saturday. W&L now makes a quick trip to Ferrum on December 3. The team returns home on December 5 to face Averett, and ends 2012 at the Daytona Beach Shootout against Bates on December 19 and versus Marymount (Va.) on December 21. The Generals are 2-1 on the road, 1-0 in neutral sites and 0-1 at home.

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