HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (January 23, 2008)�Hampden-Sydney's basketball team improved to 9-5 overall and 3-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference as the Tigers scored an 80-71 victory over Lynchburg College on Wednesday night at S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium. The Tigers shot 50.8 percent from field and 54.5 percent from three-point range, making 6-of-11 shots from behind-the-arc to defeat the Hornets. Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) led all scorers with a career-high 34 point performance on 16-of-22 shooting from the field. With the loss, Lynchburg drops to 3-10 on the season and 1-6 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Lynchburg opened the game with a 7-2 run in the first minute of the game before the Tigers tied the game at 7-7 at the 16:29 mark. The Tigers took their first lead of the game, 9-7, at the 15:27 mark on a lay-in by Troy Kaase. Lynchburg answered, taking a nine-point lead, 25-16, on a lay-up by Mason Woolridge. Lynchburg would continue with hot shooting as the Hornets were able to increase their lead to 17 points, 46-29, with just one minute remaining. The Tigers would close out the first half with five unanswered points cut into Lynchburg's lead heading into halftime, 46-34.
Hampden-Sydney opened the second half on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to four points, 46-42, with 16:38 remaining. Lynchburg would build the lead to nine points once again; however, the Tigers went on a 16-0 run over a four-minute span to build a seven-point lead, 60-53, at the 7:49 mark. The two teams traded baskets before Hampden-Sydney took its largest lead of the game, 73-62, with just two minutes remaining. Lynchburg would cut the lead to seven points, but a two-handed slam by Paul Matthews (Greenburg, PA/Greenburg Salem) emphatically sealed the Tigers comeback win, 80-71.
Hampden-Sydney had just two players score in double-figures, led by Kaase with 34 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) recorded a double-double with 24 points and ten rebounds. Freshman Paul Matthews scored eight points and sophomore Karlis Trops (Riga, Latvia/Charlotte Latin) finished with seven points and nine rebounds. Lynchburg was led by Mason Woolridge who scored 20 points and seven rebounds, while Evan Fancourt added 15 points. Kwame Safo also finished in double-figures with 12 points.
The Tigers shot 50.8 (31-of-61) percent from the field, including 54.5 (6-of-11) percent from behind-the-arc and 57.1 (12-of-21) percent from the charity stripe, while Lynchburg finished the game at 45.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range. The Tigers out-rebounded the Hornets, 39-27.
The Tigers return to action at home on Saturday, January 26, at 2:00 pm against ODAC-foe Roanoke College at S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium. Come out and support the Tigers! Fans can also catch all the exciting hardwood action on WFLO 95.7 FM or www.hsc.edu.
