Game 12 • W&L (2-9, 0-4) at Roanoke (5-5, 0-4)
Salem, Va. • January 8, 2004 • 7:00 pm

THE SERIES:
W&L and Roanoke will be meeting for the 101st time, with the Maroons holding a 66-34 advantage in the all-time series which began during the 1912-13 season. The Generals had lost 19 straight to Roanoke until defeating the Maroons (52-43) in the last meeting on Feb. 1 at the Warner Center. W&L has not beaten RC on the road since claiming a 78-67 win on Feb. 11, 1989.

SCOUTING ROANOKE:
The Maroons are 5-5 overall, 0-4 in the ODAC following a pair of victories this week to claim the championship of the V Foundation Classic. In the championship game on Tuesday evening, Roanoke defeated Shenandoah, 67-63. The Maroons recovered from a seven-point (33-26) halftime deficit to claim the win on the strength of Tournament MVP Kevinn Hunter. A senior center, Hunter scored a team-high 18 points, while sophomore forward Tee Jackson totaled 12 points. Freshman guard Keith Carter added 11 points in the win. For the season, Hunter leads the way with averages of 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He shoots 57.8 percent from the floor and goes to the free throw line an average of almost six times per game. Jackson contributes 11.3 points per game and has hit 20-of-46 (.435) three-point attempts. Junior guard Jared Butler averages 9.4 points per game thus far after posting 15.0 points per game last season. He has hit 15-of-34 (.441) three-point attempts this season.

UP NEXT:
W&L hosts Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, before traveling to Lynchburg (Saturday, 3:00) and Hampden-Sydney (Sunday, 2:00).

THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his second season as the head coach at Washington and Lee, posting a 9-27 (.250) 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 six seasons as a head coach, Hutchinson claims a 43-94 (.314) overall record. Hutchinson is assisted by Ryan Kadlubowski (Rochester '03) and Curtis Buxton.

LAST TIME OUT:
Sophomore guard Chris Halkitis scored a career-high 27 points to lead Washington and Lee to a 79-74 win over Washington College in the championship game of the W&L Tournament on Monday evening at the Warner Center. Halkitis took home tournament MVP honors after hitting 9-of-18 shots from the field and nailing six straight foul shots in the final 2:34 to clinch the win. The Generals trailed by as many as seven points (24-17) with 6:23 remaining in the first half, but ended the half on a 15-8 run to assume a 37-36 lead at the break. W&L then used a 17-6 run midway through the second stanza to post a 56-45 lead with 12:26 remaining. The Shoremen battled back to tie the game at 61-61 with 5:34 left in the game, but Halkitis scored eight points down the stretch to lift the Generals to the win. Senior guard Mike Stuart scored a season-high 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, while freshman forward Femi Kusimo was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists. Washington was led by junior forward Jonathan Webb, who tallied 20 points. Junior guard Kyle Stem scored 18 points, while senior guard John Alexander notched 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Joe Breslin was named to the all-tournament team after posting 14 points and eight boards.

LAST MEETING WITH ROANOKE:
Washington and Lee ended a string of 19 consecutive losses to Roanoke with a 52-43 win over the Maroons at the Warner Center. The Generals ended the streak with defense, allowing the Maroons their lowest offensive output since W&L defeated Roanoke, 44-42, on Jan. 16, 1986. Roanoke shot just 28.3 percent (15-53) for the game. The first half featured five ties and six lead changes as the teams went to the half tied at 22-22. Roanoke began the second stanza with a quick 7-0 run to assume a 29-22 lead with 18:06 remaining. However, after that point, the Generals went on a 23-8 run to build an eight-point lead (45-37) with 3:47 left. The Maroons closed to within two points (45-43) on a three-pointer by senior forward Jason Graffam with 1:04 remaining, but a three-pointer by W&L guard Mike Stuart with 33 seconds remaining sealed the win. W&L hit all four of its free throws in the final 20 seconds and walked away with its first victory over the Maroons since 1995. Forwards Phil Landes and Alex White led the Generals with 10 points each. Roanoke was paced by senior center Kevinn Hunter, who tallied 15 points. Graffam added 14 points and seven rebounds.

THREE MAN:
Senior guard Mike Stuart has enjoyed a fine career with the Generals and has continued 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 fourth all-time with 119 career three-pointers made, and is fifth all-time in three-point attempts (343). A .347 career shooter from beyond the arc, Stuart has hit 18-of-53 attempts (.340) this season, but is coming off an 18-point performance against Washington on Monday. In that game, Stuart nailed 4-of-6 three-point attempts.

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 seven years, W&L is 31-17 (.646) when leading at the half. During that same stretch, W&L has won a total of 44 games, meaning that W&L has led at the break in over 70 percent of its wins during the last seven 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 eight seasons, W&L is 32-16 (.667) when allowing opponents 59 points or less, 0-1 this season.

GETTING OFFENSIVE:
For several years, W&L has been characterized by slow play, particularly on offense. That has been changing of late as the Generals are currently averaging 66.3 points per game, the highest average point production for a season since the 1996-97 campaign. In its last three games (2-1 record), W&L is averaging 78.7 points per game.

TWENTY TIMES TWO:
Freshman forward Greg Bienemann (Piedmont) and sophomore guard Chris Halkitis (Washington) both scored 27 points in a game during the W&L basketball tournament. That marked the first time that W&L had a player or players record a 20-point game in back-to-back contests since Halkitis and senior guard Mike Stuart did so against Eastern Mennonite and Lynchburg midway through last season. W&L has not had three 20-point games back-to-back-to-back since Rich Peterson '00 and Kelly Dyer '98 did so during the 1996-97 campaign.

BIENEMANN THE BETTER MANN:
Freshman forward Greg Bienemann has been a significant contributor to the Generals in his initial campaign, leading the team in scoring with an average of 11.6 points per game. Bienemann has scored in double figures in seven of the team's 11 games and has led the team in scoring on three occasions. Bienemann scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a win over Piedmont on Sunday and is shooting 56.4 percent from the field.

FABULOUS FEMI:
Freshman forward Femi Kusimo has also been a pleasant addition to the Generals lineup this season. Kusimo is tied for third on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg.) and steals (1.4 spg.), and is second in rebounding (5.8 rpg.). He also shoots a team-best 59.2 percent from the field. Kusimo has led W&L in scoring on three occasions and claims a team-best eight double-figure scoring games. Kusimo was just named to the all-tournament team of the W&L Tournament after averaging 11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the wins over Piedmont and Washington College.

SHOT SELECTION:
The Generals have started to funnel shots to the tandem of Bienemann and Kusimo considering that the duo have combined to hit 57.7 percent (98-170) of their shots. The other 12 players who have seen action are a combined 171-of-454 from the field for 37.7 percent.

THE 411 ON HALKITIS:
Sophomore guard Chris Halkitis had a fine season in 2003-04, earning Honorable Mention All-ODAC honors after hitting 54-of-129 three-point attempts (.419). Halkitis has been in a slump of late, but broke out in the win over Washington College on Monday by scoring a career-high 27 points en route to Tournament MVP honors. Halkitis hit 9-of-18 shots from the floor and 3-of-9 three-pointers in posting the career-high point total. Halkitis currently leads the team in assists (2.7 apg), ranks second on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg), and is fifth in rebounding (3.5 rpg).

THE YOUTH:
Senior guard Mike Stuart and junior forwards David Will and Matt Lawless are the only upperclassmen to see action in 2004-05. The Generals 11 underclassmen who have played have combined to average 48.0 points, 24.7 rebounds and 11.6 assists per game. That translates into 72.4 percent of the team's points, 73.3 percent of the team's rebounds and 85.9 percent of the team's assists.

-- GENERALS --