WEEK #3

Game 5 • W&L (1-3) at Guilford (2-3) • December 3, 2003 • 7:00 pm

Game 6 • W&L (2-3) vs. Chowan (2-2) • December 6, 2003 • 3:00 pm

THE SERIES':
W&L and Guilford will be meeting for the 30th time, with the Quakers holding a 17-12 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams split last season and the Generals took the final meeting of the year, 72-57, on Feb. 12 in Greensboro, N.C. W&L and Chowan will be meeting for the first time on Saturday. Located in Murfreesboro, N.C., Chowan is a member of the USA South Conference (formerly the Dixie Conference).

LAST MEETING WITH GC (W&L 72, GC 57; FEB. 12, 2003; GREENSBORO, N.C.):
Washington and Lee shot a season-best 56.0 percent from the field (28-of-50) and defeated Guilford, 72-57, in Greensboro, N.C. The Generals’ broke a 20-20 first-half tie with a 14-3 run and carried a 34-26 lead into intermission before cruising to the win. Sophomore guard Ian McClure paced four Generals in double figures with a game-high 19 points, including 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. He also collected five rebounds. Senior forward Scott Hettermann tallied 18 points, five boards and five assists. Forward David Will and guard Mike Stuart were the others to reach double-digits, totaling 15 and 14 points respectively. The Quakers, who were outscored 32-14 in the paint, were paced by junior guard Eric Williams’ 15 points.

LAST TIME OUT:
Washington and Lee recorded a 42-19 rebounding advantage and shot 60.9 percent (14-23) in the second half for a 63-51 win over Drew University in men’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Warner Center. The Generals trailed 28-27 at the break and did not lead until a hoop by senior forward Hamill Jones gave W&L a 33-32 lead with 16:12 remaining in the game. Jones’ basket came in the midst of a 10-0 run which gave the Generals a 39-32 lead midway through the second half which they would not relinquish. W&L was paced offensively by sophomore forward David Will’s 14-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance. Freshman guard Chris Halkitis tallied 13 points, 12 in the second half, a game-high nine rebounds and three steals. Jones added 11 points and six boards. Drew was led by junior guard Brad Greenman’s 12 points.

UP NEXT:
After hosting Chowan on Saturday, the Generals will travel to Bridgewater next Wednesday for a 7:00 pm meeting with the Eagles. The Generals will then break for finals and the Christmas holiday before returning to the Warner Center court on Dec. 30 for a 7:00 pm game with Trinity College of Connecticut.

THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his first season as the head coach at Washington and Lee. Hutchinson came to W&L from Case Western Reserve University, where he posted a 14-36 record in two seasons. Hutchinson was in the process of turning around the program after two solid recruiting classes. Hutchinson also served as the head coach at Steven's Tech for two seasons and claims a 34-70 (.327) overall record in four seasons as a head coach. Hutchinson is assisted by Ryan Kadlubowski (Rochester '03) and Curtis Buxton. Guilford is led by first-year Head Coach Tom Polombo (Virginia Wesleyan '89). Polombo came to Guilford from Defiance College in Ohio where he produced a 100-63 overall record in six seasons. His career record stands at 102-66. Chowan is coached by Jim Tribbitt, who is in his second season with the Braves. Tribbitt posted an 8-18 overall record last season and is 10-20 in his stint at Chowan. Among his numerous coaching stops was as the head coach at Greensboro College for four seasons.

SCOUTING GUILFORD:
Guilford is 2-3 overall after defeating Greensboro, 75-63, on Monday evening at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Quakers nailed 15 first-half shots en route to a 14-point halftime edge which they would not relinquish. Senior forward Jevon Clarke led the way with 16 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Thomas Swindell contributed 16 points and five boards. Senior guards Eric Williams and Devon Clyburn added 15 and 12 points, respectively. On the season, Guilford is averaging 73.0 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. Clarke leads the way with 15.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Swindell averages 12.2 points and 4.6 carroms per game, while Williams gives the Quakers 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Clyburn added 10.8 points and a team-high 13 assists per outing.

SCOUTING CHOWAN:
Chowan is 2-2 on the season after defeating Lynchburg, 71-58, on Monday evening in Lynchburg, Va. The Braves held LC to 29.0 percent shooting (20-69) from the floor and 3.8 percent shooting (1-29) from three-point range in the win. Freshman guard Olajuwon Johnson led Chowan with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Freshman forward Trayvon Latham added 12 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Joseph Cowan contributed 10 points and six rebounds. On the season, Chowan is paced by Latham, who averages 23.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior guard Roland Brown averages 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and Cowan averages 8.3 points per game. As a team, the Braves are shooting 41.7 percent (25-60) from three-point range, but just 52.5 percent (42-80) from the foul line.

KEEP EM' UNDER 60:
Defense does win games as evidenced by W&L's record in low-scoring games. During the last seven seasons, W&L is 29-11 (.725) when allowing its opponent 59 points or less, 1-0 this season. The Generals have not lost when allowing 59 points or less since a 57-48 setback against Roanoke on Jan. 6, 2001.

STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
A quick start has been imperative to the Generals winning games. Over the past six years, W&L is 26-12 (.684) when leading at the half. During that same stretch, W&L has won a total of 36 games, meaning that W&L has led at the break in just over 72 percent of its wins during the last six years.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME??:
In their last five trips to Guilford's Ragan-Brown Field House, the Generals are 4-1 overall. W&L shot just 39.1 percent in its lone loss during the stretch, a 65-51 setback on Jan. 16, 2002. In its' four wins, W&L shot 52.1 percent (88-169) from the floor.

THREE MAN:
Junior guard Mike Stuart has proven to be a threat from beyond the arc, hitting 34-of-96 attempts (.354) last season. Stuart ranks 11th on the career three-point list with 73 makes and is 11th on the career attempts list (216). Stuart has struggled from behind the arc in the early going in 2003-04, hitting just 5-for-18 (.278) from three this season.

DROPPIN' DIMES:
Senior point guard Michael Denbow has been known for dropping dimes during his career, totaling 208 assists in 76 career games, an average of 2.7 assists per game. He can climb into the Top 5 in W&L history in career assists with 40 more dimes. Denbow is averaging 2.8 assists per game this season.

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY:
Sophomore forward David Will was the Generals' top scoring freshman last season, averaging 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Through four games this season, Will leads the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game. He is shooting 53.8 percent (21-39) from the floor and has grabbed an average of 4.5 rebounds per contest.

UNDER THE BOARDS:
W&L held a 42-19 rebounding advantage against Drew on Saturday. The +23 margin took the Generals from a -23 margin on the season to an even 120-120 for the season.

PLAYING LARGE:
At 5-10, 160 pounds, freshman guard Chris Halkitis is almost always the smallest player on the court. However, Halkitis tends to play larger than his stature and Saturday's game against Drew was a prime example. Halkitis led the Generals on the boards, grabbing a game- and career-high nine rebounds in just 18 minutes of action. According to school records, his nine rebounds were the most by a W&L player under 6-foot tall since at least 1990.

AT THE CHARITY STRIPE:
W&L is shooting 72.7 percent from the foul line this season, but has gone to the line just 44 times in four games. On the flip side, W&L's opponents have hit just 66.7 percent of their charity tosses, but have shot 72 free throws. All told, the Generals' opponents have hit 16 more free throws on the season (48-32).

GENEROUS GENERALS:
Tis the season for giving and lest we forget the motto "better to give than receive". Words to live by, except when on the basketball court. The Generals must keep this in mind when they take the court this week. Through four games, W&L is averaging 20.5 turnovers per game. On the flip side, the Generals are only receiving 12.0 "gifts" per game from their opponents.

-- GENERALS --