EMORY, Va. – The Washington and Lee University Men's Basketball Team (4-8, 1-2 ODAC) hit a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining in the game to outlast visiting Emory & Henry College (1-11, 0-3 ODAC) Wednesday evening at the Warner Center.
W&L got out to an 8-0 lead at the 17:36 mark of the first half but an 8-2 run by E&H closed the gap to 10-2 thanks in part to a three-pointer by freshman guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.). The two squads traded baskets over the next five minutes with the Generals holding a slim lead before they scored seven straight points to extend the lead to 27-19. Washington and Lee would lead by as much as 11 in the opening half but Emory & Henry went on a 9-4 run in the final 2:25 to make the score 39-33 at the break.
The two squads went back and forth for the first four minutes of the second half with W&L taking a 47-41 lead. Emory & Henry fought back and went on a 17-4 run thanks to five three-pointers during the stretch. The Wasps would lead by as much as nine in the second half before 11 straight points by the Generals put them back on top with just under seven minutes to play.
Emory & Henry then scored six points in a row go to ahead 68-64 with 4:26 on the clock answered by a 6-2 run by Washington and Lee to make the score 73-70. The two teams went back and forth to a 75-all tie with 30 seconds left before sophomore guard Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.) hit a free throw to give the Wasps a 76-75 lead with 14 seconds on the clock.
W&L went down the court and drew a foul with 6.8 seconds, putting Andy Kleinlein on the line. Kleinlein hit both of his attempts to give the Generals the 77-76 lead. Emory & Henry went down the court and had one last attempt to seal the victory but the shot caromed off the rim as time expired.
Kleinlein was one of five Washington and Lee players to reach double figures in the game, tallying 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Andrew Franz notched a team-high 17 points and added three rebounds and five assists while Clayton Murtha and George Nicholas chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively. As a team, the Generals shot 46.3 percent (25-for-54) for the game and hit 11 three-pointers. Despite only managing two second-chance points, W&L scored 18 points off turnovers in the game.
Emory & Henry was paced by sophomore guard Myles Turner's (Richmond, Va.) game-high 25 points as he hit a trio of three-pointers and added five rebounds and six assists. Shelor finished the contest with 16 points on four-for-five shooting from beyond the arc and notched seven rebounds. Junior guard Kevin Anzenberger (Concord, N.C.) and freshman guard Josh Hess (Abingdon, Va.) each had nine points in the contest.
The Wasps shot 49.0 percent (24-for-49) for the game and connected on 11-of-23 (47.8%) of their attempts from long range. E&H hit 17-of-24 (70.8%) of its free throws and held a 33-25 rebounding advantage. Turnovers proved to be crucial as Emory & Henry committed 14 miscues compared to just seven by Washington and Lee.
Emory & Henry will return home on Saturday for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game with Shenandoah University at 4:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15