Washington and Lee University
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 69-145 (.322) overall record. He is assisted by Sean Grant (NYU '02).
LAST TIME OUT:
The Washington and Lee men’s basketball team claimed its sixth-straight victory and its first win in the Bast Center in 19 years with a 67-59 overtime win at Roanoke College on Saturday evening. The Generals shot a season-low 35.5 percent (22-62) from the field, but hit 16-of-21 free throws (.762) and held a 45-37 advantage on the boards. The first half featured six ties and eight lead changes before W&L closed the half on an 8-0 run for a 30-24 lead at the break. However, the Generals missed each of their first 14 shots of the second half and Roanoke went on a 12-0 run to assume a 36-30 lead with 13:52 left. W&L answered at the 11:00 mark when senior forward Femi Kusimo converted an old-fashion three-point play to make it 36-33. Kusimo’s basket ignited a 12-2 Generals’ run that gave W&L a 44-38 lead with 6:35 left. The rest of regulation remained tight and the Maroons tied the score at 53-53 as guard Keith Carter hit 1-of-2 free throws with seven seconds remaining to send the game into an extra session. Junior guard Chris McHugh gave W&L the lead on a jumper just 17 seconds into overtime and the Generals hit 10-of-12 free throws the rest of the way to pull away for the win. Senior forward Greg Bienemann led four Generals in double-figures with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Isaiah Goodman tallied 15 points, four rebounds and four steals, while Kusimo notched 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. McHugh chipped in 10 points and four assists. Roanoke was led by Josh LaPorte, who tallied 14 points and nine rebounds.
THE SERIES':
W&L and Guilford are meeting for the 38th time, with the Quakers holding a 23-14 lead in the all-time series. Guilford has won each of the past three meetings, but two of those games have been determined by one point each. W&L and Randolph-Macon will be meeting for the 71st time, with the Yellow Jackets claiming a 57-13 series advantage. W&L snapped a string of 43-straight losses to R-MC earlier this season with a 77-75 overtime win in the Warner Center. However, W&L has not won in Ashland since the 1958-59 season (30 games). W&L and Virginia Wesleyan will be meeting for the 43rd time, with the Marlins holding a 32-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Marlins have won each of the last 13 meetings dating back to a 57-55 W&L win on Dec. 2, 2001.
LAST MEETING WITH GUILFORD:
Jordan Snipes racked up 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Guilford handed the Washington and Lee men’s basketball team a 95-77 loss at the Ragan-Brown Field House. The Quakers had a slim 26-25 lead with 11:41 remaining in the first half, but used a 13-0 run to extend their advantage to 39-25 with 6:08 to play in the opening stanza and owned a 50-37 edge at the break. In the second half, Guilford led 70-54 with 12:28 remaining, but the Generals cut the lead to eight points (70-62) with 10:39 left. However, W&L could get no closer down the stretch and GC held on to pick up its sixth-straight win. Guilford shot 57.9 percent from the floor (33-57), 57.1 percent from long range (12-21) and 81.0 percent from the charity stripe (17-21). The Generals shot 14-of-29 (.483) from beyond the arc en route to setting a new program record for made three’s in a contest. Forward Kirk Jones led W&L with a career-high 20 points, 18 of which were tallied in the second half. Jones also connected on 6-of-8 of his three-point attempts. Senior guard Chris Halkitis registered a season-high 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while forward Greg Bienemann tallied 10 points and six rebounds. Snipes paced Guilford’s hot shooting evening as he made good on 10-of-14 from the field and 10-of-12 from the foul line. Ben Strong recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
SCOUTING GUILFORD:
Guilford is 14-4 overall and 9-2 in the ODAC following a 75-67 victory at Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday. The Quakers shot 47.5 percent (29-61) from the floor, held a 38-29 rebounding advantage and committed just seven turnovers in the win. Senior center Ben Strong led the way with 30 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Senior forward Eric Belkoski added 13 points. For the season, Strong leads the ODAC in scoring (25.4 ppg) and rebounding (11.0 rpg). The Division III National Player of the Year last season, Strong shoots 56.4 percent (180-319) from the floor and has blocked 42 shots on the year. Sophomore guard Clay Henson averages 13.6 points per game and has a team-best 47 three-point baskets, while Belkoski is averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
LAST MEETING WITH RANDOLPH-MACON:
The Generals ended a string of 43-consecutive losses to Randolph-Macon by downing the Yellow Jackets, 77-75, in overtime at the Warner Center. The Generals’ losing streak to Randolph-Macon dated back to a 75-73 W&L win on Feb. 9, 1977. W&L senior forward Greg Bienemann broke a 75-75 tie when he rebounded a missed a runner by junior guard Chris McHugh and hit the go-ahead layup with two seconds remaining in overtime. The Generals forced 16 first-half turnovers by the Yellow Jackets en route to a 40-28 lead at the break. W&L extended to a 17-point lead (54-37) with 14:53 remaining in regulation, but R-MC used a 23-5 run over the next 10:05 to assume a 60-59 lead with 4:48 left in the second half. The lead changed hands five times from that point until Macon junior guard Justin Short tied the game on a jumper with 1:06 left in regulation. The Yellow Jackets had two layup opportunities to win the game in the final five seconds of regulation, but both came up short. Randolph-Macon opened a four-point lead (73-69) with 2:41 left in overtime, but the Generals knotted the game at 75-75 on a pair of free throws by McHugh with 1:23 remaining and Bienemann capped the scoring with his game-winner. Bienemann totaled 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 shooting from the foul line. He also grabbed 11 rebounds. Junior forward Kirk Jones added a season-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Short paced the Yellow Jackets with 26 points. Freshman guard Jordan Brown notched 13 points, all scored in the second half. Junior guard David Carlson chipped in four points and 11 rebounds.
SCOUTING RANDOLPH-MACON:
Randolph-Macon is 14-4 overall and 8-3 in the ODAC following a 123-97 win over Emory & Henry on Sunday. The Yellow Jackets will travel to Lynchburg on Wednesday, before hosting the Generals on Saturday. In the win over E&H, Macon shot 64.0 percent (48-75) from the floor, including 9-for-11 (.818) from three-point range. Junior guard Justin Short paced R-MC with 34 points and seven assists. Freshman guard Jordan Brown totaled 20 points, while junior guard David Carlson added 17 points. For the season, the Yellow Jackets are led by Short's 15.3 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. Carlson averages 13.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest, while senior forward Jeremy Dixon contributes 12.6 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds per outing. Brown adds 10.2 points per game.
LAST MEETING WITH VIRGINIA WESLEYAN:
Virginia Wesleyan senior forward Tyler Fantin totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Marlins to a 68-53 victory over Washington and Lee at the Warner Center. Virginia Wesleyan used an early 13-2 run to open an 11-point lead (19-8) with 12:07 left in the first half and never looked back in claiming the 15-point win. Fantin was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Stephen Fields, senior guard Ton Ton Balenga and freshman forward Julius Carlton. Field tallied 15 points, five rebounds and six assists, while Balenga and Carlton added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Washington and Lee was paced by senior forward Greg Bienemann and junior guard Isaiah Goodman, who each totaled 17 points. Bienemann also snared a team-high eight rebounds, while Goodman’s point total tied his career high.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA WESLEYAN:
Virginia Wesleyan is 15-4 overall and 9-3 in the ODAC following a 75-67 loss to Guilford on Sunday. The Marlins travel to Bridgewater on Wednesday and host Roanoke on Saturday, before hosting the Generals on Sunday. Senior guard Ton Ton Balenga led the Marlins in the loss to Guilford, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Stephen Fields and junior forward Norman Hassell both added 12 points. For the year, Balenga averages a team-best 16.6 points per game. Senior forward Tyler Fantin contributes 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest, while Hassell and Fields average 13.0 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.
SCORCHING THE NETS:
The Generals are shooting 53.4 percent (180-337) from the floor over their last six games and are now shooting 50.1 percent (465-929) from the field for the season. That total is tops in the ODAC, ranks Top 10 in Division III and is the highest season shooting percentage by a Generals' team since the 1983-84 team shot 51.5 percent from the floor. Individually, senior forward Femi Kusimo leads the team and ranks Top 15 nationally with a .636 shooting percentage. Senior forward Greg Bienemann is shooting .603 from the floor and also ranks among the Division III leaders.
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
W&L is 20-1 in its last 21 games (11-1 this season) when leading at the break and has compiled a 54-24 (.692) record over the past 10 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 70 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in just over 77 percent of their wins during the last 10 years.
ON THE GLASS:
W&L was out-rebounded in seven of its first eight games of the season, but has since recovered to hold the rebounding edge in eight of the last nine contests, including out-rebounding Roanoke, 45-37, on Saturday. W&L has just a +0.1 rebounding advantage on the season, but holds a +6.5 edge over the last nine contests.
12 AND 8:
W&L's 12 wins this season are the program's most since going 12-14 during the 1990-91 season. Additionally, the Generals' eight ODAC victories are the most in a season since the 1989-90 team went 8-8 in conference play. The 8-2 start in ODAC contests is also W&L's best start to the ODAC season since going 10-1 in its first 11 games during the 1988-89 season. With one more win, W&L can also guarantee itself of its first non-losing season since posting a 15-12 record during the 1989-90 campaign.
GIMME FIVE MORE -- MINUTES THAT IS:
W&L has been more than happy to win in regulation, but the Generals' two most significant victories this season have occurred in overtime. W&L broke a 43-game losing streak to Randolph-Macon earlier this season when it defeated the Yellow Jackets, 77-75, in overtime. The Generals also won their first game at Roanoke in 19 years when they downed the Maroons, 67-59, in overtime on Saturday. W&L has played three overtime games this season and is 2-1 in those contests. The Generals opened the season with a 57-55 overtime loss to Drew University.
STREAK SPEAK:
W&L is in the midst of a six-game winning streak, its longest streak since winning nine in a row during the 1988-89 season. It is also the longest current winning streak in the ODAC. During the streak, W&L has shot 53.4 percent (180-337) from the floor, 35.4 percent (28-79) from three-point range and 71.9 percent (82-114) from the foul line, has held a 35.0-30.2 (+4.8) advantage on the boards and has logged 108 assists to just 93 turnovers.
FABULOUS FEMI:
Senior forward Femi Kusimo has been the Generals' top shooter over the past four seasons. Kusimo is a career 60.1 percent (360-599) shooter from the floor and last season, he set a new W&L season record by shooting 61.5 percent (110-179) en route to averaging 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. This season, Kusimo is second on the team in scoring with an average of 11.9 points per game and he is shooting 63.6 percent from the floor. Kusimo has two games this season in which he has gone 10-for-11 from the field. He is also 33-for-50 (.660) from the floor in his last six games. Kusimo currently lays claim to 842 career points.
BIENEMANN MOVING UP THE CHARTS:
Senior forward Greg Bienemann has been having a season worthy of ODAC Player of the Year consideration and he currently leads the team in scoring (23.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg), is tied for the lead in blocks (1.1 bpg), is second in field-goal percentage (.603) and third in assists (2.2 apg). He claims 68 career double-digit scoring efforts, 23 games of at least 20 points and five games of at least 30 points. He has also scored in double-figures for 24-straight games dating back to last season, including scoring a career-high 36-points in wins over Emory & Henry and Eastern Mennonite. With his 394 points this season, Bienemann has moved into 11th place on the Generals' all-time scoring list with 1,408 career points. He is just 21 points shy of surpassing W&L Athletics Hall of Famer Pat Dennis '78 for 10th place.
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. Greg Bienemann (2004-pr.), 1,408
12. Brian Hanson (1979-83), 1,338
13. Mike Neer (1967-70), 1,289
14. Ed Hart (1987-91), 1,238
15. Jeff Harralson (1983-87), 1,219
--GENERALS--