LEXINGTON, VA – The William Peace men's basketball team is off to a 4-2 start this season, as they hit 11 three's and shot 54% from the field in the first half on their way to an, 89-74, win over Washington & Lee.
WPU trailed by four early on, but the Pacers finally got it going after three-pointers from Nate Strother and Shawn Shaffer keyed an 8-0 run putting them ahead, 14-10, at the 13:53 mark. WPU never trailed after that and went on to shoot 11-22 (50%) from beyond the arc in the opening half. They led, 51-37, at the break behind 14 points apiece from Strother and Shaffer.
Five minutes into the second half, Washington & Lee cut the lead to seven, but the Pacers put a stop to any hopes of a comeback with a 7-0 spurt, making it a 14 point game again with 12:35 left. WPU extended their lead to as many as 21 with just over five minutes remaining and went on for the 15 point victory.
It was a much different mode of attack for the Pacers in the second half. They went only 2-10 from deep, but after failing to make a trip to the free-throw line in the first half, WPU went 16-25 from the charity stripe in the second. The Pacers ended up shooting 49.2% going 30-61 from the field and 13-32 (40.6%) from three-point land.
WPU struggled defensively at times, allowing Washington & Lee (2-4) to go 57.4% from the field on 27-47 shooting. The Pacers seemed to turn it on when they needed to though and implemented a variety of different looks which led to turnovers and easy buckets. WPU scored 20 points off 19 turnovers and only coughed it up seven times.
Strother tied his career mark set earlier this season with a team high 21 points off the bench. He also registered two rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals. Shaffer finished with 20 points on 8-10 (80%) shooting from the field, and Chris Thomas also reached double-figures with 18 points, a rebound, two assists, and two steals.
Jalen Vince had eight points, four rebounds, a team high six assists, and a steal. Michael Wolf registered seven points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Terry Rogers also added five assists coming off the bench.
Andrew Franz led the way for Washington & Lee with a game high 34 points on 13-20 (65%) shooting. Franz also added nine rebounds and three assists.
The William Peace men's basketball team will be back in action at 7:00 p.m. this Tuesday traveling to take on the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan.
Stay up to date with William Peace Athletics via social media: Like us on Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.