W&L Men's Basketball Notes - ODAC Tournament Edition
Game 26: Eastern Mennonite (14-11) at W&L
(13-12)
Date: Tuesday, February 19, 7:00 pm
Location: Lexington, Va.
Series Record: W&L leads, 51-31
LAST TIME OUT • W&L 61,
SHENANDOAH 60 (2/16/13)
After sinking two free throws, senior forward J.D. Ey stole the
inbounds pass and made a quick layup with 14 seconds left in the
game to give the Washington and Lee men's basketball team a 61-60
victory over Shenandoah on Saturday at the Warner Center. In a game
where Ey scored the 1,000th point of his career, he led all scorers
with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the
year. He scored 19 of his 23 in the second half, and finished
8-of-16 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. The
Generals (13-12, 8-8 ODAC) trailed, 58-50, with 2:09 left in the
game after a three-pointer by first-year guard Sharif Almulla. Ey
split a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to cut the
lead to seven, 58-51, with 1:52 remaining. The Hornets (3-22, 0-16)
immediately turned the ball over and first-year forward Jok Asiyo
drilled two free throws to trim the deficit to five (58-53) at the
1:35 mark. First-year forward Shaquille Rodney made one of two free
throws to push the lead back to six, 59-53. After an empty
possession for both teams, Ey dropped in a layup (59-55) with 52
ticks on the clock. SU missed the front end of a one-and-one, and
Ey scored again to bring W&L within two, 59-57, with 37 seconds
remaining. Rodney split another pair of free throws, and after an
offensive rebound on a missed three-pointer, Ey was fouled and went
to the line with the team down three (60-57). After making both and
scoring off the steal, the Generals defense did not allow the
Hornets to get off a potential game-winning shot. Ey now has 1,012
points in his career, and became the 22nd player in program history
to achieve the historic mark. He moved to 20th on the W&L
all-time scoring list. First-year Andrew Franz
joined Ey in double figures with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He
also notched eight boards, three assists and three steals.
Sophomore forward Jim Etling came
off the bench for eight points and two rebounds. W&L shot 38.2
percent (21-55) from the field, 15.0 percent (3-20) from long
distance and 84.2 percent (16-19) from the charity stripe. SU went
20-of-48 (41.7 percent) overall, 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) from
behind the arc and 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the foul line. The
Generals led by as many as 10 in the first half, before the Hornets
cut the lead to seven, 33-26, by intermission. Shenandoah scored 11
of the first 13 points of the second half to erase the deficit and
gain a two-point advantage by the 16:48 mark. SU eventually
extended its lead to eight before W&L's late game heroics.
Sophomore guard Jared Carithers led the Hornets with 17 points on
6-of-13 shooting. Sophomore guard Eli McEathron added nine points
and two steals. It marked the final game of the regular season for
the Generals and was Senior Day for forward Jeremy
Adkins, guard Kelton
Buchanan, Ey and forward Matt Gaeta.
LAST TIME AGAINST EASTERN MENNONITE • EMU
91, W&L 84 OT (1/9/13)
Washington and Lee recovered from a 12-point deficit with 7:10
left in regulation to force overtime, but could not complete the
comeback, falling 91-84 to Eastern Mennonite on January 9 at Yoder
Arena. Eastern Mennonite shot 50.0 percent (16-32) from the floor
in the opening half to post a 40-27 halftime lead. The Royals held
a 59-47 lead with 7:10 left, but the Generals used a 7-0 run capped
by a three-pointer from first-year forward Andrew Franz to cut the
lead to 59-54 with 5:47 remaining in regulation. EMU pushed its
lead back to seven points (67-60) at the 3:13 mark, but the
Generals used a 5-0 run over the next 45 seconds to make it a 67-65
game with 2:28 left in the second half. Junior forward Drew
Kimberly knocked home a free throw and following a Royal
turnover on the next possession, first-year guard Darren
Douglas was fouled on a three-point attempt. Douglas made just
one of three foul shots, but the Generals got the offensive rebound
and Franz canned a three-pointer to make it a two-point game.
Eastern Mennonite went back up by five points on two occasions, but
EMU senior forward Owen Longacre made just 1-of-2 from the foul
line with 14 seconds left to open the door for W&L, down
75-72. Senior guard Kelton Buchanan drilled a three-pointer
with eight seconds left to send the game into an extra session. In
overtime, EMU grabbed control by starting with an 8-2 run capped by
a dunk by senior forward Andrew Thorne and the Generals got no
closer than four points the rest of the way. Kimberly led W&L
with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and
6-of-8 from the foul line. Junior guard Kevin Gill
notched 14 points on 3-of-3 from the field and 6-of-7 from the foul
line, while Franz tallied 11 points, six rebounds and three
assists. EMU, which shot just 37.5 percent (12-32) in the second
half, was paced by Longacre's 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior guard R.J. Sims totaled 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while
Thorne finished with 16 points and eight boards.
LAST TIME AGAINST EASTERN MENNONITE IN THE ODAC
TOURNAMENT
(W&L 63, E&H 62 • Feb. 22, 1985)
Washington and Lee last played Eastern Mennonite in the ODAC
Tournament in 1985. The Generals earned a 63-62 overtime victory
over the Royals in the first round. Lex Fitzenhagen '85 led W&L
with 12 points and Harmon Harden '88 was the leader in rebounds
with eight. The Blue and White would go on to lose to Maryville,
60-56, in the second round in Salem.
SCOUTING EASTERN MENNONITE
Eastern Mennonite enters Tuesday's game with a 14-11 overall
record and finished ninth in the ODAC with a 7-9 mark. EMU is 8-5
at home, but just 5-5 on the road this season. The Royals have lost
three of their last four, including an 83-81 defeat at home to
Roanoke on Saturday. Senior wing Andrew Thorne recorded a
double-double in his final home game, coming in with 17 points and
10 rebounds. Junior wing R.J. Sims was 5-of-8 from outside and
finished with 19 points and a game-high six assists. Sophomore
forward David Falk also had a double-double with 13 points and 10
rebounds, to go with his three blocked shots. The Royals are
averaging 76.8 points per game on 45.0 percent (715-1,590)
shooting. Thorne leads the team in scoring at 15.7 ppg, and also
averages a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Sims is second on the
team at 14.0 ppg. Washington and Lee leads the all-time series
between the two teams, 51-31. EMU earned a 91-84 overtime home
victory against the Generals in their lone meeting this season. The
Royals have won the last two games in the series. W&L last
defeated EMU in Lexington on January 5, 2011, 93-92. In the ODAC
Tournament, the Blue and White is undefeated against the Royals at
3-0. The teams haven't met in the conference tournament since the
1985 season, when W&L earned a 63-62 overtime victory.
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 112-147 (.432) 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 145-213 (.405).
A GRAND END TO THE REGULAR SEASON
In the final game of the 2012-13 regular season, senior forward
J.D. Ey scored the 1,000th point of his career, and netted the
game-winning basket with 14 seconds remaining against Shenandoah.
With 11:55 to go in the game, Ey hit the first of two free throws
to become the 22nd player in W&L history to reach 1,000 points.
He now has 1,012 career points, which is 20th all-time. He also has
827 rebounds, 237 assists, 166 blocks and 139 steals in his four
seasons. He is the only player in program history with at least
1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 200 assists, 150 blocks and 100 steals.
His final bucket against Shenandoah was also the first game-winning
shot in the final 35 seconds for the Generals since Zac White's '10
basket with 1.7 seconds left to beat 18th-ranked Roanoke on
February 17, 2010.
KEEP YOUR EY ON THE BALL
After J.D. Ey helped lead the Generals to a couple conference
victories this week, the ODAC honored the forward with the league's
Basketball Player of the Week Honor. Over the two games, he totaled
33 points (16.5 ppg), 23 rebounds (11.5 rpg.), 5 assists (2.5
apg.), 5 steals (2.5 spg.) and 3 blocks (1.5 bpg.). He recorded two
double-doubles, and scored a season-high 23 points, with 19 in the
second half, against the Hornets. He currently leads the ODAC in
total rebounds (239), rebounds per game (9.6) and blocks per game
(2.2). He is the only player in the conference averaging at least
9.0 rpg. Sophomore forward Daniel Eacho of Roanoke is second at 8.1
rpg.
FRANZTASTIC PLAY
Over the second half of the season, first-year forward Andrew
Franz has become a go-to scorer for the Generals. He has led the
team in scoring in four of the last six games, including a
career-high 27 points in the 30-point home victory against Emory
& Henry on February 6. Over his last seven games, Franz is
averaging 17.1 points per game on 47-of-95 (49.4 percent) shooting,
7.0 rebounds per game and 3.9 assists per game. For the season,
Franz is at 11.6 ppg (tops among first-years in the ODAC) on 47.1
percent (105-223) shooting. He also contributes 4.6 rpg and 1.9
apg.
BEHIND THE ARC
A pair of Generals' back court mates continue do to most of their
damage from long distance. Sophomore Javon
McDonald and junior Kevin Gill are each shooting over 42
percent from the three-point line. McDonald is tied for fourth in
the ODAC at 43.3 percent (52-120) and Gill sits in eighth at 42.5
percent (37-87). Will Ballard '01 holds the W&L single-season
record at 47.0 percent (31-66) in 1998-99. The program record for
makes in a season is 63 held by Bryan Watkins '93 in 1991-92 and
Ian McClure in 2002-03.
EVEN MORE FROM LONG DISTANCE
The Generals recently set the team's single-game three-point makes
record against Emory & Henry on February 6 with 15, and on
Saturday set the program's single-season three-point makes record.
Senior guard Kelton Buchanan's triple on the first possession
against Shenandoah marked the 176th for the Blue and White this
season. It broke the previous record of 175 set in 1991-92. This
year's squad also broke the single-season attempts mark which was
481 set in 1992. This season, the Generals have connected on
178-of-485 (36.7 percent) three's. The W&L single-season
three-point percentage record is 41.0 percent (136-332) set in
1988.
BREAKING THE HALFTIME CURSE
Heading into last Wednesday's game at Roanoke, W&L was 0-10
when trailing at halftime. The Generals trailed at the break,
28-25, but out-scored the Maroons, 50-28, in the second to leave
with a 75-56 victory. The Blue and White shot 62.5 percent (15-24)
after intermission, including 5-of-10 (50 percent) from long
distance. When the Generals lead going into the halftime break, the
team is 12-2.
CELEBRATING THE SENIORS
W&L honored the 2013 senior class on Saturday during Senior
Day. Forward Jeremy Adkins, guard Kelton Buchanan, forward J.D. Ey
and forward Matt Gaeta make up the senior quartet for the Generals.
Over the course of their careers, they have combined for 309 games
with 178 starts, 1,989 points, 1,229 rebounds, 402 assists, 223
steals and 172 blocks.
20-POINT GAMES
This season the Generals have had a player score at least 20
points nine times. Senior forward J.D. Ey has done it three times,
sophomore guard Javon McDonald twice and first-year forward Andrew
Franz, junior guard Kevin Gill, junior forward Drew Kimberly,
sophomore guard Clay McLean
each once. W&L is 6-3 when a player reaches 20 points.
FUN WITH NUMBERS
Washington and Lee is a perfect 4-0 when holding its opponents
under 60 points, 4-0 when four-or-more players score in double
figures and 6-0 when it shoots better than 50 percent from the
field.
INTERVIEW WITH COACH HUTCHINSON
Following each game, coach Adam Hutchinson takes a minute to
answer some questions about his team's performance. The interview
is normally up 20 minutes after the game and can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/user/wlusports. All archived interviews can
be found there as well.
