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 62-144 (.301) overall record. He is assisted by Sean Grant (NYU '02).
THE SERIES':
W&L and Eastern Mennonite are meeting for the 72nd time, with the Generals holding a 46-25 advantage in the all-time series. W&L has won each of the past three meetings, including an 86-62 victory at EMU in the final encounter of last season. W&L and Roanoke will be meeting for the 110th time, with the Maroons holding a 73-36 advantage in the all-time series. Roanoke has won each of the past three games, including a 70-64 victory at W&L last season.
LAST TIME OUT:
Senior forward Greg Bienemann paced three Washington and Lee players in double-figures with 22 points to lift the Generals to a 71-47 victory over Goucher on Thursday evening in Towson, Md. The Generals jumped out to a 19-7 lead with 8:17 remaining in the first half en route to a nine-point lead (33-24) at the break. W&L used a 13-0 run over the first 3:34 of the second stanza and led by double figures the rest of the way in cruising to the 71-47 victory. Bienemann also notched six rebounds and six assists for the Generals, while sophomore forward Zac White notched 12 points and three rebounds. Senior forward Femi Kusimo also tallied 11 points and grabbed seven boards.
LAST MEETING WITH EASTERN MENNONITE:
The Washington and Lee men’s basketball team shot 60.3 percent from the floor en route to posting an 86-62 victory at Eastern Mennonite last January. The Generals led from the start and connected on 19-of-30 (.633) of their shots in the first half in carrying a 45-25 lead into the break. EMU never challenged in the second half as W&L pulled away for the 24-point win. The Blue and White hit 35-of-58 (.603) of their shots for the game and out-rebounded the Royals, 37-26. Washington and Lee was paced by forward Femi Kusimo, who tallied a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds. Forward Kirk Jones notched 14 points, while forward Greg Bienemann added 13 points in just 17 minutes, fouling out in the second half. Senior guard Chris Halkitis and guard Chris McHugh both registered career-highs in assists. Halkitis notched 11 assists to go with five points and five boards, while McHugh racked up eight assists and nine points. EMU was led by senior forward Jason Sager’s 18 points and guard Austin Twine, who accounted for 15 markers.
LAST MEETING WITH ROANOKE:
Forward Josh LaPorte tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Roanoke to a 70-64 victory over Washington and Lee at the Warner Center. The game was tight throughout, with neither team leading by more than eight points for the entire contest. The Maroons held a slim 34-33 lead at halftime and the Generals' only lead of the second half came on the opening basket of the final 20 minutes for a 35-34 advantage. Roanoke stretched out to a 59-51 lead with 7:20 remaining in the game, but W&L fought back to slice it to a 65-64 game with 1:01 remaining. However, the Maroons used nearly the entire shot clock on the next possession before guard Zach Milton hit a layup with 31 seconds remaining for a 67-64 lead. W&L missed a layup with 16 seconds remaining and Milton sunk 1-of-2 free throws to stretch the Maroons' lead to 68-64. W&L guard Chris McHugh missed a three-pointer with six seconds left and the Maroons added a breakaway layup with one second left for the final margin. Washington and Lee was led by forward Kirk Jones, who scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range. McHugh and guard Isaiah Goodman chipped in 11 points each, while junior forward Femi Kusimo added nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Forward Greg Bienemann was held to single digits for the first time all season, scoring nine points. LaPorte’s effort was supported by 12 points from guard A.J. Dowell, 11 points from guard Ben Shrader and 10 points from center Curtis Peery.
SCOUTING EASTERN MENNONITE:
Eastern Mennonite is 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the ODAC. The Royals are coming off an 83-76 loss at Averett on Saturday evening. Senior forward Brad Parkes paced EMU with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and added nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Jason Rutschman tallied 13 points, while senior guard Jered Lyons chipped in 11 points. For the season, Parkes leads the team in scoring (19.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) and he is also shooting a team-best 57.0 percent from the floor. Lyons averages 11.4 points per game and has a team-high 20 three-point baskets, while senior center Corey Bailey contributes 6.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING ROANOKE:
Roanoke is 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the ODAC and is coming off an 83-67 win over Ferrum on Saturday. The Maroons will also face Emory & Henry on Wednesday, before traveling to W&L for Sunday's contest. Against Ferrum, senior guard A.J. Dowell led the way with 19 points. Junior guard Zach Milton tallied 18 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Josh LaPorte notched 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. For the season, junior center Curtis Peery leads RC in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game. Dowell averages 11.7 points per game, while LaPorte contributes 10.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
W&L is 15-1 in its last 16 games when leading at the break and has compiled a 49-24 (.671) record over the past 10 years when it leads at the break. W&L has won a total of 64 games during that stretch, meaning that the Generals have led at halftime in nearly 77 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 have been by six points or less.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING:
With its 71-47 win over Goucher on Thursday, W&L improved its current winning streak to three games. W&L had one three-game winning streak last season, but has not posted a four-game winning streak since emerging victorious in four-straight during the 1989-90 season. The last five-game winning streak occurred the previous season (1988-89) when the Generals strung together a nine-game and seven-game streak en route to a 20-7 record.
THE REASON WHY:
W&L has posted a three-game winning streak because it is taking care of the ball and shooting a high percentage from the field. Over the streak, W&L has logged 55 assists to just 46 turnovers and is shooting 50.6 percent (81-160) from the floor.
BIENEMANN THE BETTER MAN:
Senior forward Greg Bienemann has been on a tear since returning from the holiday break. He was named the Tournament MVP of the W&L Tournament after averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game over the two games. He then followed up those performances with a 22-point, six-rebound, six-assist performance in a 71-47 victory over Goucher. For the year, Bienemann leads the team in scoring (21.1 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg), assists (2.7 apg) and blocks (1.0 bpg). He claims 60 career double-digit scoring efforts and 17 games of at least 20 points. Bienemann has tallied a career-high 33 points on three occasions, including on Dec. 1 when he totaled 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Generals' first win over Randolph-Macon since 1977. With his 190 points this season, Bienemann has moved into 16th place on the Generals' all-time scoring list with 1,204 career points. He can overtake Steve Hancock '88 for 15th place with 12 more points.
IT'S ALL GOOD:
Junior guard Isaiah Goodman is off to a hot-shooting start for the Generals. Through nine games, he is hitting 51.9 percent (27-52) from the floor and has nailed 8-of-15 (.533) three-point attempts. He is coming off a 17-point effort against Virginia Wesleyan on Dec. 2, tying his career-high, and he is third on the team in scoring with 8.4 points per game. Goodman tallied nine points, grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, dished four assists and collected two steals in the Generals' championship game victory over Ferrum.
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 58.9 percent (312-530) 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 10.1 points per game and he is shooting 57.7 percent from the floor. He was named to the all-tournament team of the W&L Tournament after averaging 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Kusimo currently lays claim to 731 career points.
SCORCHING THE NETS:
As a team, the Generals are currently shooting 48.1 percent (227-472) from the floor and have shot better than 50 percent in four contests this season. That percentage is currently the highest season percentage by a W&L team since the 1988-89 team shot 48.7 percent from the floor.
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