LEXINGTON, VA (January 27, 2008)�Hampden-Sydney's winning streak over Washington and Lee ended at 20 games as the Tigers fell to the Generals, 66-51, on Sunday afternoon at the Warner Center in Lexington, VA. The Tigers were able to cut the Generals lead to five points with 5:13 left to play, but the Generals finished the game on a 12-2 run to earn the win. Hampden-Sydney was led by sophomore Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) as he scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Coming into Sunday's contest, the Generals had lost 20 consecutive meetings with the Tigers, a streak dating back to the 1997-1998 season. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 9-7 on the season and 3-6 in the conference, while Washington and Lee improves to 10-5 overall and 6-2 in the ODAC.
For the first five minutes of the first half, Hampden-Sydney and Washington and Lee traded baskets, but Washington and Lee went on a 17-6 run over a ten minute span to take a 25-12 lead with 4:58 remaining until halftime. Trailing by a score of 30-14, Hampden-Sydney cut the lead to 13 points, 30-17, on a three-point field goal by freshman guard Paul Matthews (Greenburg, PA/ Greenburg Salem), but Washington and Lee would add another bucket to take a 32-17 lead into the half.
The Tigers and Generals opened the second half by trading baskets, including two shots by senior forward Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring). Leading 36-23, Washington and Lee went on an 8-2 run to build their largest lead of the game, 44-25. Hampden-Sydney continued to battle, cutting the lead to 12 points, 52-40, a three-pointer by freshman guard Brent Dillard (Dalzell, SC/Camden Military Academy). The Tigers would continue to cut into the General's lead, making a 9-2 run to cut the lead to five points, 54-49, but Washington and Lee closed the game with a 12-2 run to earn the 66-51 victory.
Hampden-Sydney was led by Turner King with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Troy Kaase finished with 12 points. Kaase broke the 1,000 point career scoring mark on a lay-up at the 6:13 mark in the first half. Sophomore Karlis Trops (Riga, Latvia/Charlotte Latin)finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Washington and Lee was led by Greg Biennemann who scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, while Femi Kusimo finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Tigers shot 41.3 (19-of-46) percent from the field, including 30.8 (4-of-13) percent from behind-the-arc, and 81.8 (9-of-11) percent from the charity stripe. The Generals finished at 51.9 percent from the field and 40.0 from behind-the-arc, while making 66.7 percent of their free throws. The Generals held a slight advantage on the boards, 28-26.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday, January 30, as the Tigers will welcome Virginia Wesleyan College to S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm. Come out and support the Tigers! Fans can also catch all the exciting hardwood action on WFLO 95.7 FM or www.hsc.edu.
