LEXINGTON, Va. – Powered by a game-high 29 points from junior forward Rob DiSibio, the Washington & Lee men's basketball team posted an 83-70 victory over Vassar College in the opening game of the W&L Holiday Classic at Holekamp Gym in the Richard L. Duchossois Athletic and Recreation Center. The victory moves the Generals to 8-4 on the season, while the Brewers suffer just their third loss of the season and are now 5-3 overall.

W&L advances to Friday's Championship Game, where it will face the winner of today's second contest between 20th-ranked Mary Washington and TCNJ at 4pm. Vassar will face the loser of Thursday's game at 2pm on Friday.

Vassar, which trailed by a 46-37 margin after the opening half of action – despite a 16-point effort from senior captain Avni Mustafaj, came out firing to open the second stanza as a 5-0 run in the first minute made it a four-point game. Leading the effort was junior forward Case Parsons, who buried a layup in the opening three seconds while also drawing a foul. After hitting his free throw, Mustafaj answered with a jumper at 19:13 for the 46-42 score.

Despite the momentum, the Brewers struggled to styme the Generals offense as senior guard Richie Manigault's free throw and a layup from junior guard Drew Harrell sandwiched a step back jumper from senior guard Kevin McAuliffe to keep the home team ahead by a 49-44 score at the 17:13 mark.

The homestanding Generals carried that momentum into the middle of the frame as a three-pointer from DiSibio and a jumper by junior forward Jack d'Entremont expanded the W&L lead to 54-44 with 15:20 remaining. Vassar continued to take back momentum, pulling it to a five-point score (60-55) after sophomore guard Alan Cedeno buried a jumper and hit his free throw shortly after, but a pair of free throws at 7:31 of the stanza by DiSibio saw the home team regain a double-figure advantage.

A jumper from d'Entremont pushed it to a 13-point (71-58) lead for the home team, but Vassar senior forward and captain Zach Johnson answered seconds later with a put-back of his own to make it 71-60 with 6:38 on the clock.

Cedeno once again answered for the visitors, nailing a three-pointer to return it to a 10-point (73-63) score, but DiSibio continued to respond for the Generals, nailing a three, while adding a layup seconds later off a steal for W&L's largest lead of the contest, 78-63 with 3:56 to play.

Vassar battled back, capitalizing on a layup and one from junior forward Logan Scott, while senior guard Ben Freed's jumper at 2:40 made it a 10-point affair once again. Holding steady with the 10-point differential, it was the Generals that continued to defend strong over the final minute as DiSibio buried three shots from the free throw line for the final 83-70 margin.

Washington & Lee, which shot 51.7% (31-60) from the floor for the contest, also took advantage at the free throw line with a 65.2% (15-23) margin. In addition to DiSibio, who shot 9-of-18 from the floor, added a game-high eight rebounds, an assist and two steals, the Generals also saw d'Entremont post 14 points with four boards, two assists, a block and a steal. Senior guard Sam Wise added eight points with five rebounds, a game-best four assists with two blocks and two steals.

For the Brewers, who shot 47.5% (29-61) from the floor and 63.6% (7-11) from the line, Mustafaj led the way with 21 points – on 9-of-14 from the floor – adding three rebounds and an assist. Cedeno dropped in nine points with two boards, while Johnson added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds to go along with two assists and a block. McAuliffe dropped in eight points as well, while senior guard Ethan Ellis had eight points, four boards and a steal.