WEEK NO. 8 (JAN 22-27)

Game 17 • W&L (4-12, 2-9) at Emory & Henry (9-7, 3-6)
January 23, 2002 • Emory, Va. • 7:00 pm

Game 18 • W&L (4-12, 2-9) vs. Roanoke (10-7, 5-5)
January 26, 2002 • Lexington, Va. • 7:00 pm

SERIES NOTES:
W&L and Emory & Henry have met 77 times with the Generals holding a 50-27 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have split their contests each of the last three seasons. However, W&L has not won in Emory, Va., since a 65-62 victory on Jan. 21, 1998. W&L and Roanoke will be playing each other for the 99th time with the Maroons claiming a 65-33 edge in the series. Roanoke has won each of the past 15 meetings dating back to the 1994-95 season.

LAST MEETING WITH E&H (E&H 84, W&L 77; JAN. 31, 2001; EMORY, VA):
Emory & Henry shot 51.7 percent (30-58) from the field and nailed 19-of-21 free throws (.905) to down Washington and Lee, 84-77 in Emory, Va. The Wasps opened a 42-37 halftime advantage and led by 12 points (78-66) with 3:21 remaining in the contest. However, the Generals sliced the lead to just three points (80-77) on an 11-2 run capped by two three-pointers courtesy of Bobby Bustamante in the final 1:14. The Wasps then salted the game away at the free throw line. Emory & Henry was led by Scott Laird, who scored 17 points. Paul Russo added 15 points, all in the second half. Washington and Lee was led by senior guard Chad Braley, who tallied 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Senior guard Will Ballard notched 16 points, while forward Scott Hettermann chipped in with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. The Generals shot 50.9 percent (29-57) from the floor and 66.7 percent (11-15) from three-point range in scoring a season-high 77 points.

LAST MEETING WITH RC (RC 71, W&L 56; JAN. 5, 2002; SALEM, VA):
Roanoke used a 19-5 run midway through the second half en route to a 71-56 victory over Washington and Lee. The Generals held a 29-20 lead with 4:26 to play in the first half, however, saw their lead shrink to two points (32-30) at halftime as the Maroons closed the first half on a 10-3 run. W&L grabbed its final lead of the game (41-40) with 12:21 left in the game on a layup from junior forward Scott Hettermann. Later, W&L junior guard Toussaint Crawford converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at 43-43, but that was as close as the Generals would get as Roanoke used the 19-5 run to break the game open. W&L was led by freshman center Mark Franceski, who scored a career-high 13 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Freshman guard Mike Stuart tallied 10 points, while junior forward Hamill Jones recorded nine points and six boards. The Maroons were paced by Heath Puckett who scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Bryan Fasnacht tallied 11 points for the victors.

UP NEXT FOR W&L:
Next week, W&L hosts Emory & Henry on Wednesday at 7:00 pm before hitting the road for games at Hampden-Sydney (2:00) and Lynchburg (3:00) on Saturday and Sunday.

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 17-48 (.262) overall, 3-3 against Emory & Henry and 0-6 against Roanoke. Lafave is assisted by Doug Stewart (Brown '94) and Barry Machado (Dartmouth '66). Roanoke is led by 13th-year head coach Page Moir (Virginia Tech '84). Moir is 233-109 (.681) for his career at Roanoke, 23-3 against W&L. Emory & Henry is led by Bob Johnson (Dickinson '68), who is in his 22nd year at the school. Johnson claims a 297-267 (.527) overall record at E&H and in his career, 22-20 against W&L.

LAST TIME OUT:
Top-ranked Randolph-Macon used a 26-6 run during the second half to defeat Washington and Lee, 62-39, in ODAC men’s basketball action on Monday evening at the Warner Center. The game was knotted at 22-22 at the break and the Yellow Jackets held a 29-27 lead with 16:37 remaining. R-MC began its run at the 15:07 mark and finished with a 55-33 lead with 2:58 left in the contest. The Yellow Jackets shot 60.9 percent in the second half and forced 13 W&L second half turnovers. The Generals were led by freshman center Mark Franceski, who tallied eight points and a career-high eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Hamill Jones, sophomore guard Michael Denbow and junior guard Toussaint Crawford all notched seven points for W&L. Randolph-Macon was paced by junior guard Tim Smith, who scored 13 points. Sophomore forward Kurt Bergmann added 11 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Jared Mills, the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer and rebounder, was limited to just three points and four rebounds. W&L was playing without its scoring and rebounding leader, Scott Hettermann, who suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s game against Virginia Wesleyan.

SCOUTING EMORY & HENRY:
Emory & Henry is 9-7 overall, 3-6 in the ODAC after dropping an 88-82 decision to Hampden-Sydney on Saturday afternoon. The Wasps were led by sophomore guard Justin Call, who tallied 21 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Cortez Watson added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. E&H forced 18 Tiger turnovers but could not overcome a 55-39 disadvantage on the boards. On the season, the Wasps are led by Call, who averages 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Senior center Kenny Carver posts 12.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per outing, while junior guard Jay Rosser averages 11.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. Junior guard Paul Russo leads the ODAC in assists (5.38 apg). The Wasps force 20.4 turnovers per game and are averaging 85.4 points per contest.

SCOUTING ROANOKE:
Roanoke is 10-7 overall, 5-5 in the ODAC after defeating Virginia Wesleyan, 74-62, on Monday evening. The Maroons were led by junior guard Robby Pridgen, who tallied 19 points. Junior center Nathan Stewart notched 14 points, while junior guard Josh Foster added 12 points and eight rebounds. Roanoke committed just nine turnovers and hit 18-of-20 free throws in the contest. On the season, Pridgen leads the team with an 18.3 points per game average. He has also dished off a team-best 2.5 assists per game. Foster averages 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The Maroons shoot an ODAC-best 76.8 percent from the foul line led by Pridgen, who has hit 87-of-100 attempts.

KEEP EM' UNDER 60:
Washington and Lee has been known in recent years for its slow the pace style of play and it has been successful. During the last five seasons, W&L is 22-9 (.710) when allowing its opponent 59 points or less, 3-0 this season.

BY COMMITTEE:
W&L's scoring has come by committee this season as seven different players have led the team in scoring. Freshman forward Mike Stuart claims the highest point total with 33 markers against Eastern Mennonite.

FREE THROW WOES:
The Generals have been struggling from the foul line this season, making just 56.1 percent (185-330) of their charity tosses. To make matters worse, W&L has sent its opponents to the line 411 times in 16 games (25.6 attempts per game) and they have hit 67.9 percent. On average, the Generals are being outscored by 5.9 points per game at the foul line.

COMPLETE 180:
Turning a complete 180 from the previous note, the Generals do have one player who has been masterful at the free throw line this season. Freshman Mike Stuart has made the most of his trips to the stripe, hitting 23-of-24 shots (.958) from the charity stripe. If Stuart had enough attempts, he would rank third in Division III in free throw percentage. To qualify for the leaders, Stuart would need to attempt 19 free throws against the Wasps.

ON A TEAR:
Sophomore forward Hamill Jones has been on a tear of late, averaging 7.0 points and 6.4 rebounds over his last seven games. During that stretch, Jones has set or tied a career-high in points three times and once in rebounding. Jones grabbed 12 boards against Eastern Mennonite and scored 10 points against Hampden-Sydney and Virginia Wesleyan.

TOP GAME -- EVER:
Freshman forward Mike Stuart had the finest game ever by a first-year W&L player as he tallied 33 points in the Generals' win over Eastern Mennonite. Stuart totaled his points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. His seven three's tied the school record for three's in a game held by three others.

INJURY UPDATE:
W&L has suffered a few tough losses due to injury thus far as freshman guard Wes McAdams and junior forward Scott Hettermann are both out. McAdams has played in just one game this season after suffering a shoulder injury, while Hettermann is out after suffering an ankle injury against Virginia Wesleyan. Hettermann, the Generals' leading scorer (11.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.7 rpg) may return on Saturday against Roanoke. Freshman forward Holton Freeman returned to the court against Virginia Wesleyan after missing six games with a broken thumb. He will be sporting a heavily-taped split for at least two more weeks.

JUST ONE MORE:
With one more victory, Washington and Lee can claim 1,000 wins for the history of the program. W&L's overall record is 999-952-1 over 96 seasons. Only a total of 49 schools currently competing in Division III can boast 1,000 wins. Among ODAC schools, only Randolph-Macon, Roanoke and Hampden-Sydney have more victories than W&L.

-- GENERALS --