Washington and Lee University
THE SERIES':
W&L and Thomas More will be meeting for the first time on the hardwood. The Generals have also never met Ferrum on the basketball court and carry a 4-2 all-time record against Rhodes. The Generals and Lynx have not met since Feb. 17, 1990 when Rhodes claimed an 80-67 victory in Memphis, Tenn.
LAST TIME OUT:
Virginia Wesleyan senior forward Tyler Fantin totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked 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 junior 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 FERRUM
The Panthers enter the tournament with a 4-4 overall record and are on a two-game winning streak following wins over Lynchburg (77-62) and Lancaster Bible (61-55) during the first week of December. Freshman forward Derek Mitchell paced Ferrum in the win over Lancaster Bible, recording 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. Three Panthers average double figures on the season led by Mitchell's 11.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Jon Godsey averages 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per outing, while sophomore guard Keith Crump contributes 10.9 points per contest.
SCOUTING RHODES
The Lynx are 5-3 overall, but have won three of their last four games entering the tournament. However, Rhodes did drop its last outing, suffering a 102-99 overtime setback to LaGrange on Dec. 17. Junior guard Cory Smith led the way in that contest with 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Jared Hoskins and senior guard Joe Thompson added 19 and 18 points, respectively. For the year, Smith averages 21.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Hoskins contributes 19.6 points and Thompson averages 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
SCOUTING THOMAS MORE
The Saints are 5-4 on the year and have also won three of their last four games, but fell in their last outing, a 71-56 loss at Centre on Dec. 18. In that game, junior forward Mark Tinklenberg tallied 30 points and eight rebounds. For the season, Tinklenberg leads TMC in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg). Junior guard Matty Owens averages 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Eddie Brown and senior forward Brad Buckner average 7.9 and 7.8 points per game, respectively.
THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. In his eight seasons as a head coach, Hutchinson claims a 59-144 (.291) overall record. He is assisted by Sean Grant (NYU '02).
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
W&L is 12-1 in its last 13 games when leading at the break and has compiled a 46-24 (.657) record over the past 10 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 61 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in nearly 76 percent of their wins during the last 10 years.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR:
With a 76-72 loss at Emory on Nov. 20, the Generals suffered their third defeat this season by five points or less. Dating back to the beginning of the 2006-07 season, the Generals have a total of 18 losses, 10 of which were by six points or less.
BIENEMANN THE BETTER MAN:
Senior forward Greg Bienemann leads the team in scoring (21.2 ppg), rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (2.0 apg) this season. He claims 57 career double-digit scoring efforts and 15 games of at least 20 points. Bienemann has tallied a career-high 33 points on three occasions, including two games ago on Dec. 1 when he totaled 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Generals' first win over Randolph-Macon since 1977. With his 127 points this season, Bienemann has moved into 17th place on the Generals' all-time scoring list with 1,141 career points. He can overtake Mike Holton '91 for 16th place with 31 more points.
IT'S ALL GOOD:
Junior guard Isaiah Goodman is off to a hot-shooting start for the Generals. Through six games, he is hitting 58.8 percent (20-34) from the floor and has nailed 5-of-9 (.556) three-point attempts. He is coming off a 17-point effort against Virginia Wesleyan, tying his career-high, and he is second on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game.
SPEAKING OF SHOOTING:
Goodman may be on fire from the floor, but senior forward Femi Kusimo has been the Generals' top shooter over the past four seasons. Kusimo is a career 58.6 percent (293-500) 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 fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 8.2 points per game and he is shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. He currently claims 689 career points.
SIMPLY JONES:
Junior forward Kirk Jones may be the forgotten man in the Generals' starting lineup due to his simple (not flashy) game or simple name, but that doesn't mean his contribution is not felt by the team. Jones has a team-best 13 three-pointers and is third on the team in scoring (8.5 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (3.2 rpg). Jones averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season.
TRIPLE TALK:
Washington and Lee currently ranks 23rd in Division III in three-point field goal percentage, making good on 41.8 percent of its attempts (33-of-79) from beyond the arc. Since the inclusion of the three-point line prior to the 1986-87 season, W&L's best season three-point field goal percentage was 41.0 percent (136-332) during the 1987-88 campaign.
TOURNAMENT TALK:
The 2007-08 season marks the third time in the last four seasons that W&L has hosted a New Year's Tournament at the Warner Center. W&L has emerged as the tournament champion in each of the past two New Year's tournaments. Below is a glipse at the 2006 and 2004 W&L Holiday Tournaments:
2006 W&L Tournament
Last year, W&L defeated King's Point, 75-53, in the opening game and then knocked off Emory in the championship by a score of 69-57. Forward Greg Bienemann scored 28 points in the championship tilt and was named the tournament MVP. Forward Femi Kusimo joined Bienemann on the all-tournament team after scoring 12 points and grabbing seven boards in the championship.
2004 W&L Tournament
W&L also won the tournament during the 2004-05 season by defeating Piedmont College, 79-65, in the opening round and then downing Washington College in the championship game, 79-74. Guard Chris Halkitis took home tournament MVP honors for W&L after tallying 27 points in the championship game. Forward Femi Kusimo was also named to the all-tournament team after averaging 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds over the two games. Forward Greg Bienemann totaled 27 points in the win over Piedmont.
-- GENERALS --