Generals Pin 71-47 Setback on Gophers

Generals Pin 71-47 Setback on Gophers

Jan. 3, 2008

TOWSON, Md. - Goucher had seemingly gotten back into tonight's game against Washington & Lee when two free throws by Ian Brown (Durban, South Africa/Glenwood Boys) with 1:56 remaining in the first half knocked what had been a 12-point deficit down to a single point. But the Generals responded by scoring the final eight points of the period to rebuild their lead back up to 33-24 and they were on their way to a 71-47 victory over the Gophers.

The Gophers (3-8) failed to score a single point on their first seven possessions of the contest, and by the time they did finally get on the scoreboard, they had already accumulated six turnovers. For the game, head coach Leonard Trevino's squad was guilty of 24 turnovers and was 16-for-51 from the field, which included an 0-for-9 performance from three-point range. The .314 shooting percentage was the lowest of the season in a game against a Division III opponent.

The Generals (5-4) assumed their biggest lead of the first half on a lay-up by Craig Sauers that made the score 19-7 with 8:17 left to play before halftime, but when the Gophers answered with a 17-6 run that started with a pair of free throws by Nick DeSouza (Washington, DC/Archbishop Spalding) and included two baskets by Cameron Brown (Baltimore, MD/Owings Mills), a three-point play by Pat Bailey (Rockville, MD/Magruder) and a tip-in by Kyle Gladden (Baltimore, MD/Lansdowne), the two teams were only separated by a point.

Washington & Lee not only didn't surrender the lead, but added to it before the first half came to a close. Two of the Generals' final four possessions of the period culminated with three-point plays by Greg Bienemann, and when Femi Kusimo dropped in a lay-up just ahead of the horn, W&L enjoyed a nine-point advantage at the break.

The Gophers never got any closer in the second half.

Goucher's five starters combined to score only 15 points in the game and the leading scorer was Cameron Brown, who delivered eight points off the bench.

Bienemann contributed 22 points to W&L's fifth victory in its past six games. The senior forward also was credited with six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots.