LEXINGTON, Va. -- Virginia Wesleyan College missed two shot attempts, one a three-pointer, in the final 25 seconds Saturday and suffered a 69-68 upset loss to the host Generals of Washington and Lee University.

The Marlins gave up only one Washington and Lee shot in the final minute of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference game, but could not generate enough offense to avoid the setback.  VWC trailed 69-61 with 1:39 remaining and sparked a final comeback led by Chris Teasley (Newport News/Menchville) with five points.

The loss places VWC in a first-place tie with Hampden-Sydney College in the ODAC standings, both with 9-1 league records.  The Marlins are now 13-5 overall, while Washington and Lee is 10-9 overall and 5-5 in the league.

Virginia Wesleyan trailed 27-26 at halftime and was in position to grab the lead in the second half when the Generals' Patrick O'Connor (Richmond/Douglas Freeman) twice nailed timely triples to push the Marlins back. The second was part of a four-point play that gave WLU a 65-59 advantage with 2:40 remaining to be played.

Two free throws by Kelton Buchanan (Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove) increased the Generals' lead to 67-59 seconds later, before Virginia Wesleyan started to come back.

Cameron Owens (Centreville/Centrville) and Chris Astorga (Suffolk/Virginia Beach Cape Henry Collegiate) hit consecutive shots to pull VWC within a 69-63 score, before Teasley hit a triple that cut WLU's lead to 69-66 with 47 seconds on the clock.

After J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park)  missed on a couple of free throw attempts, Virginia Wesleyan made it a one-point game when Teasley scored on a layup with 25 seconds remaining.  But, the 69-68 score held up the rest of the way as Washington and Lee never got a shot, while VWC missed the mark on two.

While Washington and Lee hit 51.9% from the field for the game, Virginia Wesleyan canned only 35.5% of its attempts.  The Marlins fared better at the free throw lines, netting 21-of-25 attempts.

Astorga led VWC scoring with 21 points, followed by Teasley with 16, Tre' Ford (Falls Church/J.E.B. Stuart) with 10 and Owens with nine. 

Ey led WLU with 20 points, followed by Andrew Franz (Charlotte, N.C./Ravenscroft) with 18 and O'Connor with 11.

VWC, which had a six-game winning streak snapped with the loss, will attempt to rebound on Wednesday, Jan. 30, when the Marlins host Randolph-Macon College at 8 p.m.

--AMDG--