The Roanoke College men's basketball team will host Emory & Henry (5-10, 11-13 ODAC) in their final home game on Saturday evening at the Bast Center. The Maroons (18-6, 10-5), are tied with Bridgewater for the third-place slot in the latest ODAC standings. Roanoke will honor their four seniors, Aaron Tyson, Curtis Peery, Zach Milton, and Drew Gaeng in a brief ceremony before tip-off.
Series Information vs. the Wasps
Roanoke is 62-39 all-time vs. the Wasps since 1912. The Maroons won in 2006-07, 112-107 in overtime at EHC, breaking a four-game skid against the Wasps. It was the most points the Maroons scored against EHC in the 95-year series. The Maroons defeated the Wasps, 100-90 for the first time on the road since 2004-05. Prior to 2004, the Maroons won the previous nine of 10 meetings. The Maroons have scored over 100 points in six of the last seven meetings, including a 100-90 decision on Jan. 9, which was the first time the Wasps were held to under 100 points all season. Roanoke also defeated the Wasps earlier this season, 101-86.
A layup by junior forward Ben Goetsch with 7:48 remaining in the contest capped a 14-4 run by W&L and gave the Generals a 57-45 lead before the Maroons (18-6, 10-5) began their game-ending run.
Washington and Lee (13-11, 6-9) held a slight 28-27 advantage after an evenly played first period that saw five ties and six lead changes. Washington and Lee shot just 41.7 percent in the first half (10-24), compared to 55.0 percent for the Maroons (11-20), but connected on four three-pointers to RC's zero.
Two free throws by senior forward Ben Heller with 17:36 left to play gave W&L a 38-36 lead, an advantage that W&L would hold until a three-pointer from Roanoke sophomore guard Corey Poindexter with 1:56 showing on the clock gave the Maroons a 63-61 cushion. Heller responded with two more free throws to tie the game at 63-63 at the 1:29 mark, but RC outscored W&L 10-3 the rest of the way.
Washington and Lee shot just 38.6 percent on the game (22-57), while RC connected on 52.0 percent of its attempts from the floor (26-50). The Maroons also held a 33-30 advantage on the boards and committed two fewer turnovers than the Generals (14-16).
Senior guard Chris McHugh led W&L with a career-high 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Goetsch added 15 points, while Heller chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore guard Melvin Felix led Roanoke with a career-high 28 points. Felix was 8-of-12 from the floor and connected on 11-of-12 shots from the line. Poindexter tossed in nine points off 4-of-5 shooting while Will Sheppard came off the bench to score five points and grab four rebounds in 15 minutes of play.