Washington and Lee holds off Bridgewater, 66-57

Washington and Lee closed the first half with a 9-3 run to open up a nine-point lead and the Generals held Bridgewater College at bay in the second half to take a 66-57 victory in ODAC men’s action Wednesday night.

The Eagles took an early lead, using a 7-2 flurry to break away from a 7-7 tie. Bryce Boggs put the Eagles up with a jumper, but Andy Kleinlein answered with a pair of free throws for W&L to tie the score at 9-9. A 3-pointer by Kevin Saylor and a tip-in by Zach Kopp gave Bridgewater a 14-9 lead with 11:52 left in the first half.

The Generals tied the score at 14-14 on a 3-pointer by Nicholas George, but Boggs responded with a 3-ball for a 17-14 Eagles lead.

W&L big man Clayton Murtha worked the paint for two buckets to start an 8-0 spurt for the Generals. A free throw by Devin Kearns and another inside bucket from Murtha gave the hosts a 21-17 lead. Connor Macisaac then hit 1-of-2 at the foul line for a 22-17 W&L lead with 6:07 left in the half.

Kenneth Turner came of the Eagles bench and hit a 3-pointer from the left corner to make it a two-point game, but Murtha continued to score inside and six straight points by the Generals’ center pushed the lead to 28-20.

A 3-pointer by Essex Thompson and a layup by Efe Balfour trimmed W&L’s lead to three before Kleinlein scored four straight points to push the margin back to seven, 32-25. Murtha then tacked on a three-point play, giving the Generals their biggest lead of the half, 35-25.

A layup by Boggs and a free throw by Phil Baumgartner cut the defict to seven before Roy McMillan hit two free throws with three seconds left, giving the Generals a 37-28 halftime lead.

George hit two 3-pointers early in the second-half to push the Generals lead to 14 points. The lead was still 14 when Kleinlein scored on a driving layup, making the score 51-37 with 11:31 left in the game.

The Eagles then made a run at the Generals with a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead in half. Kopp scored on a strong post move and Thompson knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the margin to single digits. After Kleinlein missed from long range, Boggs sliced through the Generals defense for a layup in traffic to pull the Eagles to within 51-44 with 9:41 remaining.

After a W&L turnover, the Eagles had a chance to inch closer but Balfour missed a long jumper. George then struck again from 3-point range to push the margin back to 10 points, 54-44, with 8:37 left. W&L led by at least seven points the rest of he way and finished with the final 66-57 margin of victory.

Boggs led the Eagles with 18 points and Kopp added a career-high 12 points. Thompson came off the bench to chip in with 10. Murtha’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds paced W&L. George hit 5-of-7 shots from 3-point range to finish with 15 points.

Bridgewater, 5-13 overall and 2-7 in the ODAC, has now lost nine straight. The Eagles return to the court Saturday afternoon when they host Lynchburg College. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.