December 6, 2008
Shoremen Win at Dickinson, 85-81
Washington Makes 14 of 16 Free Throws in Final 1:28

CARLISLE, PA – Junior guard Andrew Chambers (Williamsport, MD/St. Maria Goretti) scored 24 points and freshman guard Kevin Breslin (Hagerstown, MD/St. Maria Goretti) added a career-high 19 as visiting Washington College held off host Dickinson College to post an 85-81 Centennial Conference men's basketball victory this afternoon in Carlisle, PA. The Shoremen (3-3, 1-1 Centennial), who won on an opponents' home court since the 2005-06 season, made 14 of 16 free throws in the final 1:28 of the game to preserve the victory.

Washington held a 34-24 lead with 4:29 left in the first half before the Red Devils (3-2, 0-2) scored the next nine points to cut the lead to 34-33 on a pair of free throws by Kizmahr Grell with 2:43 to go. The Shoremen took a 36-35 lead into the intermission.

An 8-0 run by the Shoremen early in the second half gave Washington a 46-37 advantage with 14:22 left in the game on a jumper by Chambers. Washington's lead then ranged from five to ten points until Dickinson's Tom Leszczynski made a lay-up and free-throw to cut the margin to 63-60 with 5:27 to play. Chambers countered with a pair of free throws with 5:01 left and a three-pointer with 4:06 to go to make it 68-60. Another traditional three-point play by Leszczynski with 3:44 on the clock cut the lead to 68-63, but Chambers answered again with a lay-up to make it 70-63 with 3:27 on the clock.

Grell then converted a lay-up and knocked down a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to pull the Red Devils to within two points and 70-68 with 2:35 remaining. Washington senior guard Tim Kohlrus (Fairfax, VA/W.T. Woodson) made one of two free throws and Matt Dolan made one of two free throws for Dickinson to make the score 71-69 in favor of the Shoremen with 1:40 remaining. Washington senior guard Todd Green (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) knocked down a pair of free throws and Chambers added two more to give Washington a six-point cushion at 75-69 with 59 seconds to go. Pat Kearns hit a jumper on Dickinson's next possession to trim the margin to 75-71 with 45 seconds to play.

Kohlrus sank one of two free throws with 43 seconds left, but Grell converted a lay-up with 36 seconds to go to trim the advantage to 76-73. Kohlrus then made a pair of charity tosses with 33 seconds on the clock to make it 78-73, but Grell hit a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining to make it 78-76. Kohlrus converted another pair of free throws to make it 80-76 with 26 seconds left, but Grell again answered with a jumper to make it 80-78 with 21 seconds to go. Freshman guard Sal Schittino (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola Blakefield) then made two free throws for Washington to push the lead to 82-78 with 18 seconds left. Dolan missed a three-pointer for Dickinson on the other end and Green grabbed the rebound. Green made one of two free throws to give Washington a five-point lead, but Grell hit another three with six seconds to go to make it 83-81. Washington junior forward Alan Kines (Towson, MD/Towson) then hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to seal the game and give Washington an 85-81 lead.

Chambers scored his 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting and the free-throw line. He made two of his four three-point attempts. Breslin was 7-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-6 beyond the three-point arc, and made his only free-throw attempt. Kohlrus added 18 points for the Shoremen.

Leszczynski and Grell each scored a game-high 27 points for the Red Devils. Leszczynski, who also had seven rebounds and two blocks, was 12-for-20 from the field. Grell, who swiped a game-high six steals, was 11-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-6 beyond the arc. Cory Kenny added 12 points and eight boards for Dickinson.

Both teams shot well from the floor in the game as the Shoremen converted on 54.5% of their atttempts and the Red Devils shot 50.7%. The Shoremen also shot 7-of-16 from three-point range. The Red Devils held a 36-25 advantage on the glass, but shot just 8-of-18 from the free-throw line. Washington was 30-of-36 at the charity stripe in the contest.

Washington's last road win came on January 25, 2006, when the Shoremen posted a 65-62 victory at Swarthmore. The Shoremen had dropped 29 straight road games before today, though they had posted two neutral-site wins during that stretch.

The Shoremen will not play next week during final examinations, but will return to action Monday, December 15th, with a 7:30 p.m. non-conference home game against Delmarva rival Wesley College.

BOX SCORE