SALEM, VA-Trailing 55-50 with 4:08 to play in the game, the Roanoke College men's basketball team used a late 12-1 run to come away with a 68-64 victory over Washington & Lee University in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who have won four consecutive games, improve to 5-7 overall and get their first ODAC win in five tries. The Generals are now 6-4 overall, 1-3 in the ODAC.
Washington & Lee's Ben Heller scored on a back-door cut layup with 4:08 left in the game to give the visitors the 55-50 lead. Off the inbounds pass, Roanoke junior
Keith Carter took the ball, sprinted the length of the court, and hit a driving layup to spark Roanoke's 12-1 run. After a General turnover, the W&L defense left
Josh LaPorte all alone under the basket where he brought the Maroons to within one, 55-54, off a
Zach Milton pass.
Greg Bienemann hit one of two free throws to push the Generals' lead back to two, 56-54, but a
Curtis Peery 17-foot jumper tied the score with 2:53 to play. On the other end, Bienemann missed a short jumper and off the rebound the Maroons hustled to get a two-on-one fastbreak which
AJ Dowell converted to give Roanoke a 58-56 lead. Another W&L misfire resulted in another Roanoke fastbreak, this time with Dowell dishing the ball to Milton who gave the Maroons a four-point edge, 61-56.
With less than a minute to play, the Generals were forced to foul, sending the Maroons to the line, where they made eight of their 12 attempts to secure the victory. The Generals were able to get to within three, 67-64, with 14 seconds to play, but Peery made one of two foul shots with six seconds left to ice the win.
In the first half, the Maroons trailed by as many as 10 points, that at 29-19 with 4:08 showing on the clock. The Maroons, however, ended the half on a 14-2 run to take a two-point lead at the break. Tied at 31 with less than 10 seconds to play, Roanoke sophomore
Aaron Tyson collected an offensive rebound and stuck in a short jumper with three seconds left to give the Maroons the edge at the intermission.
Peery finished the game with his second double-double of the season for the Maroons, who shot just 36.4 percent from the field. After starting the second half just 4-for-17 from the floor, the Maroons made six of their final 10 shots. Carter completed the contest with 12 points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal.Bienemann, who entered the game averaging over 20 points a game, led the Generals with 14 points. Ben Heller came off the bench to contribute nine points and three rebounds.
The Maroons take the next week off before returning to action next Saturday in a road contest against the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University. The game in Harrisonburg, VA begins at 7:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Washington & Lee Box Score
