WEEK NO. 3 (NOV. 26-DEC. 2)

Game 5 • W&L (2-2) vs. William & Mary (1-4)
November 28, 2001 • Williamsburg, Va. • 7:00 pm

Game 6 • W&L vs. Randolph-Macon (1-1)
December 1, 2001 • Ashland, Va. • 3:00 pm

Game 7 • W&L vs. Virginia Wesleyan (1-2)
December 2, 2001 • Norfolk, Va. • 2:00 pm

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THE TEAMS:
This week, W&L hits the road for three contests, including two ODAC match-ups. The Generals take on Division I William & Mary on Wednesday before facing ODAC-foes Randolph-Macon and Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday and Sunday. W&L and William & Mary have met 51 times over the years with W&M holding a 26-25 advantage in the series than began during the 1917-18 season. The Tribe won the last meeting, 109-62, during the 1958-59 season. W&L and Randolph-Macon have met 55 times with the Yellow Jackets holding a 43-12 advantage. R-MC has won each of the last 29 meetings dating back to the 1976-77 season. W&L and VWC will be meeting for the 29th time with the Marlins claiming a 19-9 series lead. Wesleyan has taken three straight from the Generals.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
William & Mary is 1-4 on the season after falling to The Citadel on Monday evening. Freshman guard Nick D'Antoni led the Tribe with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Senior forward Mike Johnson added 13 points and six boards. On the season, D'Antoni leads the team with an average of 12.4 points per game. He is joined in double-figures by sophomore guard Reid Markham (10.2 ppg) and Johnson (10.0 ppg.). Johnson is also the team's leading rebounder (5.4 rpg.). W&M has had trouble from the foul line in the early-going, hitting just 57.8 percent (63-109) of its charity tosses.

Randolph-Macon is 1-1 thus far and plays Bridgewater on Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets fell to St. Thomas (Minn.), 70-63, in their season-opener before defeating Pitt-Bradford (75-58). Junior guard Tim Smith leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg.) followed by junior forward Jared Mills (11.0 ppg., 6.5 rpg.).

Virginia Wesleyan is 1-2 thus far and plays Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday. The Marlins dropped their opener to 17th-ranked Clark, 82-76, before defeating Neumann, 79-73. VWC then fell to second-ranked Christopher Newport, 75-51, on Tuesday. Sophomore forward David Doino leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg.), followed by junior center Ryan Kahle (12.0 ppg.).

NEXT WEEK FOR W&L:
The Generals play just one game next week as they travel to Bridgewater on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm contest. W&L will then break for exams and the holiday before returning to action on Jan. 2 as it hosts Guilford at 7:00 pm.

THE HEAD COACHES:
Jeff Lafave (Southern Connecticut St. '93) is in his third season as the head coach at W&L. Lafave posted a 9-16 overall mark in his first season and led the Generals to their first ODAC Tournament win since the 1989-90 season. He is 15-37 (.288) overall, 0-4 against against Randolph-Macon and 1-3 against Virginia Wesleyan. Lafave is assisted by Doug Stewart (Brown '94) and Barry Machado (Dartmouth '66). William & Mary is led by Rick Boyages (Bowdoin '85), who is in his second season as head coach. He posted an 11-17 record last season and claims a 56-66 (.459) career record in six seasons as a head coach. Boyages was the head coach at Bates College for four years before joining Jim O'Brien's staffs at Boston College and Ohio State. Randolph-Macon is led by third-year head coach Mike Rhodes (Lebanon Valley '95). He is 30-23 (.566) for his career at Macon. Virginia Wesleyan is coached by Dave Macedo (Wilkes '96), who is in his second season. He is 16-9 (.640) overall in his first head coaching opportunity.

LAST TIME OUT:
Washington and Lee evened its record at 2-2 on the season with a 56-53 win over Greensboro College on Sunday afternoon. The Generals, who led 24-22 at the half, extended their lead to 14 points (51-37) with 5:58 remaining in the game. Trailing by 10 points (51-41) with 2:38 remaining, the Pride went on a 12-3 run over the next 2:16 to cut the W&L lead to one with 22 seconds remaining. Following a pair of missed free throws by W&L sophomore guard Michael Denbow with 14 seconds remaining, the Pride had a chance to take the lead with two seconds left, but sophomore guard Marcellus Morgan’s jumper rimmed-out and W&L junior forward Jake McAlister grabbed the rebound with one second remaining. McAlister was fouled and hit both free throws and GC sophomore forward Daron Williams missed a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Generals claimed the win. Washington and Lee was led by junior forward Scott Hettermann, who tallied 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Freshman forward Holton Freeman and McAlister each recorded 10 points. Greensboro was led by freshman guard Dontay Logan, who notched 11 points.

THE LAST MEETING WITH A DIVISION I TEAM:
W&L's last meeting with a Division I team occurred in the 1999-2000 season-opener against Harvard University. The Generals fell to the homestanding Crimson, 72-43, on Nov. 20, 1999. W&L hung tough with Harvard for more than a half, trailing 33-31 with 18:00 left to play. Harvard then reeled off 19 consecutive points to end the upset bid of the undersized Generals. For the game, the Generals were led by guards Will Ballard and Toussaint Crawford with eight points each. Forward Scott Hudson played a solid game in the post, tallying five points, five rebounds, and three blocks. Harvard was led by Dan Clemente, who tallied 19 points. Also in double figures for the Crimson were Damian Long with 11 points and Andrew Gellert with 10.

GENERALS? HOW ABOUT PRIVATE FIRST CLASS:
W&L boasts one of its youngest teams in recent memory, with no seniors, only four juniors, two sophomores and seven freshmen.

FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTIONS:
W&L may have a young squad, but the freshmen are holding their own in the early going. Together, the seven youngsters have combined to average 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. As a group, they are shooting 41.5 percent (17-41) from beyond the three-point arc. Forward Holton Freeman (8.8 ppg.) and guard Ian McClure (7.0 ppg.) are leading the way.

KEEP EM' UNDER 60:
Washington and Lee has been known is recent years for its slow the pace style of play and it has been successful. During the last five seasons, W&L is 21-9 (.700) when allowing its opponent 59 points or less, 2-0 this season.

INSIDE-OUTSIDE:
Junior forward Scott Hettermann and junior guard Toussaint Crawford provide the Generals with a very potent inside-outside game. Through four games, Hettermann has patrolled the paint, leading the team with 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Crawford has worked the perimeter, averaging 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

ON THE BOARDS:
In addition to being very young, W&L is also undersized with just one player 6-foot-6 inches or bigger. However, the Generals have done very well on the boards, winning the rebounding battle in each of the first four games. On the season, W&L is outrebounding its opponents by nearly eight boards per game (36.8 rpg.-29.0 rpg.).

-- GENERALS --