GREENSBORO, N.C. – Devin Kearns scored a team-high 20 points and William Brueggeman added 19 in Washington and Lee University’s 74-69 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win at Guilford College Saturday in both teams’ regular-season finale.
The Generals (18-7, 11-5 ODAC), ranked seventh in this week’s NCAA Division III South Region Poll, forced 17 Quakers’ turnovers on the hosts’ Senior Day. Guilford (18-7, 12-4 ODAC) is ranked fourth in the region.
Washington and Lee held Guilford to two points over the first half’s final 10 minutes and 44 seconds. The Generals outscored the Quakers, 14-2, in that time to turn a four-point deficit into a 30-22 halftime lead. Kearns scored five of his seven first-half points during the run and Washington and Lee held Guilford to 28 percent first-half field-goal shooting.
The Quakers made more shots in the second half, but the Generals seemed to answer each Guilford basket. Sparked by Kearns’ 13 second-half points, Washington and Lee shot 52 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes and stretched its lead to 12 midway through the frame. Carson Long’s fast-break layup got Guilford to within 52-48 with 5:39 remaining, but a Kearns triple at the other end ended the Quakers’ flurry. It also triggered an 8-0 Generals’ run punctuated by Brueggeman’s third three-pointer of the game.
Washington and Lee’s Roy McMillan added 11 points and collected a team-high 10 boards. Teammate Curtis Mitchell had eight points and nine rebounds for the Generals.
Guilford senior Marcus Curry scored a game-high 22 points and surpassed the 1,000 career-points plateau in his three years as a Quaker. Long compiled a double-double (15 points, 13 rebounds) in his final regular-season home game in Ragan-Brown Field House. Jaylen Gore and Joah Logan added 10 points apiece for the Quakers.
Coach Tom Palombo’s club clinched the second seed for next week’s ODAC Tournament earlier in the week. The Quakers earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of Monday’s first-round game between Emory & Henry College and Eastern Mennonite University in Thursday’s (2/21) 6:00 p.m. quarterfinal in the Salem (Va.) Civic Center.
Photos by Andy Gore
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