Washington and Lee University
THE SERIES':
W&L and Emory & Henry are meeting for the 89th time, with the Generals holding a 52-37 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams split the season series last year as each team won on its home court. The Generals have not won at the King Center since a 65-62 victory during the 1997-98 season (Nine games). W&L and Lynchburg will be meeting for the 102nd time, with the Generals leading the all-time series 70-31. The Generals won both meetings last season and carry a three-game winning streak against the Hornets into this week's contest. W&L and Hampden-Sydney will be meeting for the 109th time and the Tigers claim a 68-40 series edge. H-SC has won 20-straight games, a stretch that dates back to a 44-40 W&L win at Hampden-Sydney during the 1997-98 season.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Washington and Lee men’s basketball team shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the floor en route to posting a 73-67 victory over Bridgewater on Saturday evening at the Warner Center. The two teams played nearly even through the opening 20 minutes and W&L carried a 33-30 lead into the halftime break. The Generals opened the second half with a 14-4 run over the opening 6:05 for a 47-34 lead with 13:55 remaining in the game. The Eagles then used a 13-2 run midway through the second half to cut it to a three-point game (56-53) with 7:05 left, but could never take the lead as the Generals shot 60.0 percent from the floor in the second half. W&L hit 28-of-47 shots from the floor for the game and held a 28-23 advantage on the boards in winning for the seventh time in its last nine games. Washington and Lee was paced by senior forward Greg Bienemann, who notched 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Femi Kusimo registered 14 points, while sophomore forward Zac White added nine points.
LAST MEETING WITH EMORY & HENRY:
Washington and Lee shot 80.0 percent from the floor in the second half and a school-record 72.9 percent from the field in contest, but it wasn’t enough as Emory & Henry pulled out a 100-95 win at the King Center. W&L held a slim lead (28-27) with 6:31 to play in the first half, but the Wasps closed out the period with an 18-5 run to take a 45-33 advantage into the break. In the second half, E&H built its lead to 20 points (75-55) with 10:46 remaining, however the Generals used a 14-1 run to cut the lead to seven points (76-69) with 7:36 to go. Emory & Henry hit two-straight three-pointers to up its lead to 82-69, but W&L countered with a 13-4 run to make it a four-point game (86-82) with 4:17 to play in the contest. The Generals got as close as two points (95-93) with 37 seconds left, yet the Wasps hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to secure the 100-95 win. W&L shot 43-of-59 from the field (.729), shattering the previous school record set in 1981. Forward Greg Bienemann paced six Generals in double-figures with an 18-point, 12-board performance. Forward Femi Kusimo notched 19 points, while senior forward Alex White tied a career-high with 12 markers. Guards Isaiah Goodman and Chris McHugh each dropped in 11 points and forward Ben Heller matched a season-high with 10 points. The Wasps were led by Lance Reasbeck’s 19 points and Robert Hudson, who added 18 points. Camillo Weinz racked up 17 markers, while Andrew Hart scored 11 points.
SCOUTING EMORY & HENRY:
Emory & Henry is 4-9 overall and 0-6 in the ODAC following a 120-112 loss to Guilford on Saturday. The Wasps drilled 25 three-pointers in the contest, but were out-scored 36-13 at the free throw line and out-rebounded 65-40. Junior guard Camillo Weinz led the way with a career-high 35 points on an ODAC-record 11 (11-27) three-pointers. Junior guard Robert Hudson added 22 points. For the season, the Wasps rank second in DIII in points (109.8), three-pointers (14.7), assists (21.5) and steals (16.9). Weinz leads the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game, while Hudson averages 13.2 points per outing. Junior guards Josh Lee (12.0 ppg) and Jarell Christian (10.7 ppg) and junior forward Kyle Huckins (10.2 ppg) all also average double-figures.
LAST MEETING WITH LYNCHBURG:
The W&L men’s basketball team ended a six-game losing streak with a 74-56 win over Lynchburg College at the Warner Center. The Generals shot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the floor in the first half en route to claiming a 39-30 lead at the break. The Hornets closed to within nine points (43-34) with 18:11 left in the game, but W&L pushed back to a double-digit advantage on the next possession and never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way. W&L was led by senior guard Chris Halkitis’ 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Forward Greg Bienemann tallied 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, while forward Femi Kusimo and guard Chris McHugh each chipped in nine points. Lynchburg was paced by guard Steven Echols, who totaled 11 points, three assists and three steals. Guard Evan Fancourt added 10 points.
SCOUTING LYNCHBURG:
The Hornets are 3-9 overall and 1-5 in the ODAC following a 92-64 loss to Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday. LC will face Hampden-Sydney on Wednesday, before hosting the Generals on Saturday. Sophomore forward Mason Wooldridge led the Hornets against VWC with 28 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Steven Echols added 14 points. For the season, Wooldridge is averaging 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kwame Safo contributes 9.8 points and 4.3 assists per game, while sophomore guard Jeff Langrock notches 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
LAST MEETING WITH HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Hampden-Sydney shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half and 56.5 percent for the game in handing Washington and Lee a 71-60 loss at the Warner Center. The Generals led 26-21 wth 5:45 remaining in the first half, but the Tigers caught fire and closed the half with a 15-1 run to take a nine-point (36-27) halftime advantage. Hampden-Sydney extended to a 14-point lead (44-30) early in the second stanza and the Generals could get no closer than seven points (63-56) with 1:23 left in the game. Washington and Lee, which shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, was paced by forward Femi Kusimo’s game-high 16 points. Forward Greg Bienemann added 14 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Mike Edwards led five Tigers in double-digits with 15 points. Forward Lane Medlin totaled 13 points, freshman guard Turner King posted 12 points, forward Tyler Murray notched 11 points and forward Drew Prehmus chipped in 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
SCOUTING HAMPDEN-SYDNEY:
Hampden-Sydney is 8-5 overall and 2-4 in the ODAC following a 72-59 loss to Randolph-Macon on Saturday. The Tigers host Lynchburg on Wednesday and Roanoke on Saturday, before traveling to W&L on Sunday. In the loss to R-MC, the Tigers were led by sophomore guard Turner King, who posted 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Karlis Trops registered 12 points, while senior forward Drew Prehmus chipped in 10 points and six boards. For the year, H-SC is led by King, who averages 20.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing. Senior forward Troy Kaase averages 15.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while Prehmus averages 13.3 points and 4.8 boards per contest.
THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. In his eight seasons as a head coach, Hutchinson claims a 64-145 (.306) overall record. He is assisted by Sean Grant (NYU '02).
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
W&L is 16-1 in its last 17 games when leading at the break and has compiled a 50-24 (.676) record over the past 10 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 65 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in nearly 77 percent of their wins during the last 10 years.
SCORCHING THE NETS:
As a team, the Generals are currently shooting 49.0 percent (313-639) from the floor and have shot better than 50 percent in six of 12 contests this season. W&L's percentage ranks first in the ODAC and is currently the highest season percentage by a Generals' team since the 1983-84 team shot 51.5 percent from the floor.
FREE THROW WOES:
The Generals might be shooting a high percentage from the field, but that has not been the case on the foul line. W&L is shooting just 59.8 percent (147-246) from the free throw stripe and has hit just 26-of-58 (.448) free throw attempts over the last two contests.
ON THE GLASS:
W&L has been out-rebounded in seven of its 12 games this season and claims a -1.9 rebounding margin for the year. However, the Generals have cleaning the glass of late and have won the rebounding battle in each of the last four games. During that stetch, the Generals have held a +6.5 rebounding margin.
BIENEMANN THE BETTER MAN:
Senior forward Greg Bienemann currently leads the team in scoring (21.5 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg), assists (2.6 apg) and is tied for the team-lead in blocks (0.9 bpg). He claims 63 career double-digit scoring efforts and 19 games of at least 20 points. He has also scored in double-figures for 19-straight games dating back to last season. With his 258 points this season, Bienemann has moved into 13th place on the Generals' all-time scoring list with 1,272 career points. He can overtake Mike Neer for 12th place with 18 more points. Below is a list of W&L's all-time leading scorers.
W&L ALL-TIME LEADING SCORERS
1. Dom Flora (1954-58), 2,310
2. Jay Handlan (1948-52), 2,002
3. Mel Cartwright (1966-67), 1,800
4. Mike Daniel (1968-72), 1,665
5. Skip Lichtfuss (1970-74), 1,592
6. Lee Marshall (1954-57), 1,561
7. Chris Jacobs (1987-91), 1,523
8. Cam Dyer (1992-96), 1,508
9. John Lee Graves (1980-84), 1,441
10. Pat Dennis (1974-78), 1,428
11. Brian Hanson (1979-83), 1,338
12. Mike Neer (1967-70), 1,289
13. Greg Bienemann (2004-pr.), 1,272
14. Ed Hart (1987-91), 1,238
15. Jeff Harralson (1983-87), 1,219
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