WINCHESTER, Va. -- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team saw four starters score in double figures and the Generals led wire-to-wire in posting an 80-65 win over Shenandoah on Tuesday evening at Shingleton Gymnasium.
A pair of free throws by junior forward J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) just 16 seconds into the contest gave W&L (3-1) a 2-0 lead that it would never surrender. In the first half, the Generals would go up by as many as 13 points (23-10) on a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Larry Whitaker (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) at the 10:36 mark.
The Hornets (0-2) trimmed the W&L lead to seven points (27-20) following a three pointer from Dominic Chappell with 5:48 to play in the opening period. The W&L lead remained at seven points (33-26) with 1:58 left, but back-to-back three pointers by junior forward Jeremy Adkins (Huntington, W. Va./Spring Valley) gave the Generals a 39-26 lead at the 1:17 mark. SU's Avery Green made a short jumper with 26 seconds to play to produce a 39-28 score at the break.
In the second period, SU crept as close as six points as late as the 12:13 mark, but the Generals, behind 15 second-half points from Whitaker and 12 second-half points from Ey, were able to keep the Hornets at bay until pulling away late. Whitaker and Ey combined to shoot 12-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the second half alone. Also, the duo each grabbed nine boards in the second period as W&L outrebounded SU, 24-8, in the final 20 minutes and 45-26 for the game, including 17-3 on the offensive glass.
Whitaker finished the contest with a career-high 21 points, to go with 11 rebounds for his third-career double-double. Ey finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in another well-rounded effort. Adkins added 14 points, including 4-of-9 shooting from deep, and sophomore guard Kevin Gill (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) chipped in 11 points. Gill and Adkins each grabbed five boards and senior guard Kyle Bond (Boxborough, Mass./Brimmer and May) handed out five assists off the bench.
SU was led by Chappell, who scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. Bryce Mitchell tallied 12 points, James Bowens registered 11 and Green 10 for the Hornets.
The Generals return to the court on Saturday when they take on Wesley on day one of the Point Plaza Invitational hosted by Christopher Newport beginning at 5:00 pm.
--GENERALS--