NYU TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

Game 1 • W&L (0-0) vs. Nazareth (0-0)
November 20, 2004 • 3:00 pm

Game 2 • W&L (0-0) vs. NYU (0-0) or SUNY-New Paltz (0-0)
November 21, 2004 • 1:00/3:00 pm

THE TEAMS:
Joining W&L and Nazareth in the tournament are host NYU and SUNY-New Paltz. W&L faces Nazareth in the 3:00 pm contest in the opening day, then will face either NYU or New Paltz in the second day of the tournament at 1:00 (Consolation) or 3:00 pm (Championship). W&L is 0-1 all-time against Nazareth, 1-0 all-time against New Paltz and has never faced NYU. The Generals last faced Nazareth on Jan. 11, 1986, a 67-66 loss. The last meeting against New Paltz occurred on Jan. 5, 1983, an 80-66 win.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
Nazareth finished the 2003-04 season with a 13-12 overall record. The Golden Flyers return four starters, including senior center Ryan Shipley, who averaged 15.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season. However, Nazareth must replace forward Lawrence Moroney, who averaged 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per outing.

NYU has very high hopes for the 2004-05 season after finishing last year with a 21-7 overall record and finishing third in the UAA. The Violets return all five starters, including senior center Jeff Gilkerson, who earned Second Team All-UAA honors last season after averaging 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore center Jason Boone also returns after garnering UAA Rookie of the Year honors with 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

New Paltz finished the 2003-04 season with a 6-18 overall record and returns just two starters this season led by sophomore forward John Hauser, who averaged 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Hauser is joined by sophomore guard Matt Irwin, who averaged 4.6 points and 1.3 rebounds last season.

UP NEXT:
The Generals will hit the road again for a contest at Division I Citadel on Tuesday evening at 7:15 pm. W&L will then host Emory University on Saturday at 2:00 pm and Trinity (Conn.) on Sunday at 2:00 pm.

THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his second season as the head coach at Washington and Lee, posting a 7-18 (.280) record with the Generals. Prior to his arrival in Lexington, Hutchinson had coached for two seasons at Case Western Reserve University and two seasons at Stevens Tech. In his five seasons as a head coach, Hutchinson claims a 41-85 (.325) overall record. Hutchinson is assisted by Ryan Kadlubowski (Rochester '03) and Curtis Buxton.

LAST TIME OUT:
Washington and Lee's 2003-04 season ended with a 72-61 loss to Bridgewater College last Feb. 17. The Eagles used a 13-0 run last in the first half to catapult themselves to the victory. Bridgewater trailed 20-19 with 8:09 remaining in the first stanza, but used three triples and a pair of layups to assume a 33-19 edge with 4:45 remaining. The Generals chipped away and cut the Bridgewater lead to nine points at 66-57 with 3:34 remaining, but could get no closer. W&L was led by senior forward Hamill Jones, who scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Forward Alex White tallied a career-high 11 points, while forward Phil Landes added nine points and five boards. Bridgewater was paced by junior guard Ricky Easterling’s 15 points. Senior forward Ryan Lambert contributed 14 points and five boards in the winning effort. The Eagles hit 22-of-26 free throws in the game, compared to the Generals’ 5-of-7 performance at the stripe.

LAST TOURNAMENT OUTING:
W&L dropped a pair of games in the 2003-04 season-opening tournament at Franklin & Marshall. W&L fell to the Diplomats, 63-43, in the opening game, before dropping a 72-61 loss to Catholic University in the consolation round.

MORE TOURNAMENT TALK:
W&L will also host a tournament later on this season. The Generals entertain Piedmont, Washington College and Marymount in the Generals' Invitational on Jan. 2-3. W&L plays Piedmont in the opener at 8:00 pm. The championship will be played at 8:00 pm on Jan. 3.

THREE MAN:
Senior guard Mike Stuart has enjoyed a fine career with the Generals and will only look to continue that fine play this season. Twice he has tied the W&L record for three-pointers in a game (7), doing so as a freshman and again last season. He is tied for sixth all-time with 101 career three-pointers made, and is fifth all-time in three-point attempts (290). His .348 career three-point percentage ranks 10th all-time. Last season, Stuart hit 33-of-92 (.359) three-point attempts in averaging 8.2 points per game, second on the team. He enters his senior season with 663 career points.

WHAT'S BACK:
Washington and Lee welcomes back six letterwinners and three starters from last season's 7-18 squad. Leading the group is sophomore guard Chris Halkitis, who earned Honorable Mention All-ODAC honors after averaging 11.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Senior guard Mike Stuart (8.2 ppg., 1.4 rpg.) and junior forward David Will (8.1 ppg., 4.6 rpg.) also return to their starting roles.

WHAT'S GONE:
W&L did have considerable losses from last season, including guards Coleman Lyons (7.0 ppg., 1.9 rpg.), Phil Landes (6.1 ppg., 3.1 rpg.) and Michael Denbow (1.4 ppg., 1.3 rpg., 2.4 apg.), and forwards Hamill Jones (4.8 ppg., 3.4 rpg.) and Ryan Flynn (4.0 ppg., 2.9 rpg.).

WHAT'S NEW:
The Generals feature nine new faces on the team, including seven freshman. Many of the youngsters will contribute right away, including forward Femi Kusimo who will start at small forward. Kusimo earned First Team All-State honors in West Virginia last season. Freshman forward Greg Bienemann garnered Third Team All-State honors in New Jersey last season, and scored over 500 points in his senior campaign. Guards Andrew Franklin and John Mumper, forward Colton Braud and center Mason Herman should also see significant playing time early in the season.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN:
W&L features 15 players on the 2004-05 roster. This list includes one senior, two juniors, five sophomores and seven freshmen. The 15 players come from 10 different states and have an average height of 6-4 and an average weight of 199 pounds.

STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
A quick start has been imperative to the Generals winning games. Over the past six years, W&L is 29-16 (.644) when leading at the half. During that same stretch, W&L has won a total of 42 games, meaning that W&L has led at the break in just over 69 percent of its wins during the last six years.

KEEP EM' UNDER 60:
People love to see offense, but defense does win games as evidenced by W&L's record in low scoring contests. During the last seven seasons, W&L is 32-15 (.681) when allowing opponents 59 points or less, 4-4 last season.

DEAD EYE:
Sophomore guard Chris Halkitis was a "dead eye" shooter during his rookie campaign. An Honorable Mention All-ODAC selection last season, Halkitis nailed a team-best 54-of-129 three-point attempts for a team-leading .419 percentage. He hit a three in 21 of the team's 25 games and his 54 made three's was the fourth-highest season total in W&L history. Not just a shooter, Halkitis also nearly led the team in rebounding (4.4 rpg.) and led the team in steals (35) and was second in assists (49). His 11.1 points per game also led the team, marking the first time a freshman led the team in scoring since Rich Peterson '00 did so during the 1996-97 season.

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY:
Junior forward David Will also returns to the starting lineup after averaging 8.1 points and a team-best 4.6 rebounds per game last season. Will shot 44.3 percent (86-194) from the floor and was tied for the team lead with 11 blocked shots.

FOR OPENERS:
Washington and Lee will be playing in its 17th season-opening tournament since the 1970-71 season. The Generals are 15-21 (.417) in those contests and have won three tournament championships (1987, 1988, 2002 W&L Tip-off Tournament).

THE EMPIRE STATE:
With the Generals' game against Nazareth, W&L will be playing its first game against a school from New York since dropping an 88-81 decision to Elmira in the 1996 Elmira Tip-off Tournament. W&L is 38-23 (.623) all-time against teams from the Empire State.

-- GENERALS --