LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team was held scoreless for an 8:18 stretch that spanned the halftime break and shot just 30.8 percent from the floor in dropping a 70-53 contest to Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday evening at the Warner Center.

W&L (12-12, 5-10) made good on just 20-of-65 shot attempts, and missed 11 consecutive shots during the aforementioned scoring drought, as EMU (10-14, 5-10) turned a 24-18 deficit with 6:13 left in the first half, into a 30-24 lead two minutes into the second half.

A three-point play by sophomore center Drew Kimberly (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) with 17:45 to play brought the Generals back to within three points, 30-27, but the Blue and White remained stuck on 27 as the Royals scored the game's next 16 points to take a 43-27 lead with 14:19 to play.

The Generals managed to trim its deficit to 13 points (45-43) on a triple by sophomore guard Kevin Gill (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) at the 11:55 mark. However, sophomore guard Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, Va./Northside) answered with a three of his own and EMU's lead never dipped below 16 points the rest of the game.

W&L came out of the gate slowly, missing its first four shots and turning the ball over three times in falling behind 9-0 by the 17:33 mark. A jumper by junior forward J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) put W&L on the board, and W&L pulled to within a single point (9-8) following a layup by junior guard Kelton Buchanan (Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove).

After tying the contest at 16-16 with 9:36 left before the break, the Blue and White surged ahead 24-18 behind four points apiece from Ey and junior forward Jeremy Adkins (Huntington, W. Va./Spring Valley) before going cold from the field.

W&L outrebounded the Royals, 34-29, including 18-3 on the offensive glass and came up with a season-high 13 steals, but committed 21 turnovers and allowed EMU to shoot 60.0 percent (27-45) from the floor, including 72.7 percent (16-22) in the final 20 minutes.

Ey paced the Generals with his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Gill added 11 points, knocking down 3-of-5 shots from distance and first-year guard Javon McDonald (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) chipped in 10 points and three steals.

Junior forward Owen Longacre (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) led the Royals with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Junior forward Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) added 12 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the line, and first-year guard Corey Sheppard (Richmond, Va./Open) added 11 points off the bench, hitting all three of his three-point attempts. Sophomore guard Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, Va./Mountain View) chipped in nine points and a team-high six rebounds.

W&L will conclude regular-season play on Sunday when it travels to Virginia Wesleyan for a 2:00 pm contest.

--GENERALS--