Game 17 • W&L (2-14, 0-9) vs. Virginia Wesleyan (12-4, 6-4)
Lexington, Va. • January 22, 2004 • 2:00 pm

Game 18 • W&L (2-14, 0-9) vs. Randolph-Macon (8-7, 6-3)
Lexington, Va. • January 23, 2004 • 2:00 pm

THE SERIES':
W&L and Virginia Wesleyan will be meeting for the 36th time, with the Marlins holding a 25-10 advantage in the all-time series. VWC has won six straight in the series, including a 98-61 win earlier this season in Norfolk, Va. W&L and Randolph-Macon will be meeting for the 65th time, with the Yellow Jackets claiming a 52-12 series edge. R-MC has won each of the last 38 meetings dating back to Feb. 9, 1977 when the Generals defeated the Yellow Jackets, 75-73, in Lexington, Va.

THE HEAD GENERAL:
Adam Hutchinson (Amherst '93) is in his second season as the head coach at Washington and Lee, posting a 9-31 (.225) 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 43-98 (.305) overall record. Hutchinson is assisted by Ryan Kadlubowski (Rochester '03) and Curtis Buxton.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA WESLEYAN:
Virginia Wesleyan comes into today's game off a 76-67 loss to Hampden-Sydney on Thursday evening, the Marlins' first home loss of the season. The Tigers used a 19-6 run midway through the second half to overcome a 35-32 halftime deficit and take a 57-44 lead with 7:21 remaining. VWC cut the lead to six points on a pair of occasions in the final two minutes, but could get no closer. Sophomore guard Rodney Young led the Marlins with 15 points, while junior guard Marques Fitch tallied 12 points and three steals. Sophomore forward Brandon Adair and freshman guard Ton Ton Balenga added 11 points and six rebounds apiece. For the season, Adair leads the Marlins in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (6.9). Fitch averages 12.9 points and 2.9 assists per game, while Balenga contributes 12.2 points per outing. Senior forward Peter Warren adds 10.8 points per game and shoots 50.0 percent (31-of-62) from three-point range.

SCOUTING RANDOLPH-MACON:
Randolph-Macon enters the weekend with an 8-7 overall record, 6-3 in the ODAC. The Yellow Jackets will play Roanoke on Saturday, before traveling to W&L on Sunday. Macon is coming off an 88-73 loss at Virginia Wesleyan last Saturday. Junior center Justin Wansley led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points and seven rebounds, while senior guard Justin Moyer tallied 17 points. Sophomore forward Phillip Hawley added 14 points and seven rebounds. R-MC shot 52.0 percent from the floor, but couldn't match the Marlins' nine three-pointers. For the season, Wansley averages 20.4 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor. He also scored his 1,000th-point in the VWC game. Hawley contributes 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest, while Moyer scores 11.2 points and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. Junior guard Patrick Gill adds 9.4 points per game.

LAST MEETING WITH VIRGINIA WESLEYAN:
Virginia Wesleyan shot 68.8 percent (22-32) in the first half en route to a 57-23 halftime advantage in defeating Washington and Lee, 98-61. The Marlins shot 52.9 percent for the game, including hitting 10-of-15 three-point attempts. W&L was led by freshman forward Greg Bienemann, who totaled 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Freshman forward Femi Kusimo notched 11 points, while freshman center Mason Herman registered a career-high 10 points. Virginia Wesleyan was paced by junior guard Marques Fitch’s 15 points. Sophomore guard Rodney Young added 14 points, while sophomore forward Brandon Adair posted 14 points.

LAST MEETING WITH RANDOLPH-MACON:
Washington and Lee held an eight-point second half lead but could not hold on, as the Generals dropped a 63-58 decision at Randolph-Macon. The Generals led by as many as 10 points (24-14) in the first half and claimed a 36-32 halftime edge. The lead pushed back to eight points at 43-35 with 16:46 remaining, but the Yellow Jackets chipped away until claiming the lead for good at 55-53 with 7:33 remaining in the game. W&L shot just 8-for-26 (.308) from the floor in the second half, while R-MC shot 12-of-23 (.522) in the second stanza. W&L was paced by senior guard Mike Stuart and sophomore guard Chris Halkitis, who scored 16 points each. Freshman forward Greg Bienemann notched 10 points, and freshman forward Colton Braud added seven points, five rebounds and five assists. Randolph-Macon was led by junior forward Justin Wansley’s 24-point, 15-rebound effort. Sophomore forward Philip Hawley added 12 points.

LAST TIME OUT:
Bridgewater College went on an 18-0 run midway through the second half en route to a 77-56 victory over Washington and Lee on Wednesday evening. The Eagles took a 33-22 lead into halftime and opened up the second half on 10-0 run to take a 21-point lead (43-22) with 15:33 left. The Generals responded with 20-6 run to cut the deficit to 49-42 with 8:56 remaining in the game. However, Bridgewater then went on the aforementioned 18-0 spurt to take a 67-42 advantage with 5:33 remaining and wouldn’t be challenged again.W&L was just 18-for-56 (.321) from the field, while the Eagles shot 24-for-52 (.462), including 9-for-12 (.750) from three-point range. W&L was led by freshman guard John Mumper, who scored a career-high 20 points, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Senior guard Mike Stuart notched 10 points, while freshman forward Greg Bienemann tallied seven points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Bridgewater received a game-high 21 points from senior guard Ricky Easterling, while junior forward Clay Michael notched 18 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT:
W&L travels to Emory & Henry on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm contest. The Generals then host Roanoke on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

STRONG START = STRONG FINISH:
A quick start has been imperative to the Generals winning games. Over the past seven years, W&L is 31-18 (.633) 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.

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 11.4 points per game. Bienemann has scored in double figures in 11 of the team's 16 games and has led the team in scoring on four occasions. Bienemann scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a win over Piedmont.

FABULOUS FEMI:
Freshman forward Femi Kusimo has also been a pleasant addition to the Generals lineup this season. Kusimo leads the team in steals (1.6 spg) and field goal percentage (.580) and is second in scoring (10.2 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg) and assists (1.8 apg). Kusimo has led W&L in scoring on four occasions and has 10 double-figure scoring games.

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 by scoring a career-high 27 points en route to Tournament MVP honors. Halkitis currently leads the team in assists (3.1 apg), ranks third on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and steals (0.9 spg), and is fourth in rebounding (4.1 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 46.7 points, 26.1 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game. That translates into 74.2 percent of the team's points, 74.8 percent of the team's rebounds and 87.7 percent of the team's assists.

GIVE EM' THE MUMPS:
Freshman guard John Mumper has played well since being inserted into the starting lineup last Wednesday against Eastern Mennonite. Over his past three games, Mumper is averaging 15.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from the floor and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range. Mumper scored 13 points against both Lynchburg and Hampden-Sydney, then followed that with a career-high 20 points against Bridgewater. For the season, Mumper is averaging 4.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He is shooting a team-best 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from three-point range.

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 at Lynchburg. He is fourth all-time with 122 career three-pointers made, and also fourth all-time in three-point attempts (355). A .344 career shooter from beyond the arc, Stuart has hit 21-of-65 attempts (.323) this season.

THREE-POINT RECORDS:
Below is a closer look at the Generals' all-time three-point leaders. Also climbing up the charts is sophomore guard Chris Halkitis, who ranks 12th in made three's (80) and three's attempted (221).

Career Three-Pointers Made
1. Mike Holton (1987-91) 207
2. Chad Braley (1998-01) 136*
3. Bryan Watkins (1989-93) 127
4. Mike Stuart (2001-pr.) 122
5. Jon Coffman (1992-96) 116

Career Three-Pointers Attempted
1. Mike Holton (1987-91) 481
2. Chad Braley (1998-01) 361*
3. Jon Coffman (1992-96) 360
4. Mike Stuart (2001-pr.) 355
5. Bryan Watkins (1989-93) 351

* - Played only three seasons after transferring from Transylvania

-- GENERALS --