Jan 25, 2012
LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team limited Emory & Henry to 11 second-half points in posting a 67-46 win over the Wasps on Wednesday evening at the Warner Center.
The Generals (11-7, 4-5 ODAC) held E&H (8-10, 2-8 ODAC) to just 17.2 percent shooting (5-29) and 11 points over the final 20 minutes as it turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 21-point win.
Midway through the first half, W&L used a 10-2 run, including eight straight points from first-year guard Clay McLean (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day), midway through the first period to turn a 13-10 deficit into a 20-15 advantage with 11:22 to play.
E&H responded with a 10-4 run to take a 25-24 lead on a layup by junior guard Malcolm Green (Marshville, N.C./Forest Hills) at the 6:31 mark. The Wasps extended their lead to six points (33-27) with 2:51 remaining in the half, but the Blue and White closed the opening stanza on a 7-2 spurt to enter the break down just one, 35-34.
Washington and Lee opened the second half on a 10-0 scoring run over the first 4:56 to assume a 44-35 lead at 15:04, prompting E&H to call a timeout. Sophomore forward Larry Whitaker (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) scored six points during the run, and the Wasps committed a pair of turnovers and missed each of their first six shots from the floor.
A layup by sophomore forward Charles Smith (Fayetteville, N.C./Fayetteville Academy) broke E&H's scoring drought and pulled the Wasps back to within seven points at 44-37 with 14:10 to play. However, the Generals scored the game's next six points to take a 50-37 lead with 11:13 to play as E&H called time once again.
Emory & Henry trimmed its deficit back down to nine points (52-43) at the 7:16 mark, but W&L held the Wasps to just 1-of-9 shooting down the stretch, while connecting on four of its final nine shots from the floor and hitting all six of its free-throw attempts.
The 46 points allowed were the fewest in a W&L win since the Generals gave up 46 to Randolph in a 64-46 victory on Jan. 30, 2010.
For the game, W&L shot 43.5 percent from the field (27-62), compared to 32.2 percent (19-59) shooting for Emory & Henry. W&L also boasted a 47-33 advantage on the boards, including a 31-14 edge in the second period.
W&L was led by Whitaker, who posted his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He finished 7-of-12 from the floor and added four steals. McClean added a career-high 15 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Junior forward J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) narrowly missed his seventh double-double of the season with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks and sophomore center Drew Kimberly (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) added nine points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Smith led the Wasps with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Green added nine points and five boards.
The Generals return to action on Monday when they host Virginia Wesleyan at 7:00 pm.
--GENERALS--