NEWPORT NEWS, VA (January 4, 2008)�Hampden-Sydney's basketball team beat Mary Washington, 62-53, on Friday night in the opening round of the Christopher Newport Captains Classic. The Tigers trailed Mary Washington by two points at the half, but Hampden-Sydney shot 59.1 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from behind-the-arc, making 3-of-6 attempts from three-point range, to take the 62-53 victory. Hampden-Sydney was led by sophomore guard Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) as he finished with 20 points and five rebounds. With the win, Hampden-Sydney improves to 6-1 on the season, while the loss drops Mary Washington to 6-3 overall.

Mary Washington took an early 7-2 lead just three minutes into the game, but the Tigers answered with an 8-0 run to take a 10-7 lead on a Turner King three-pointer at the 14:59 mark. The teams traded baskets for the next six minutes, drawing to a 19-19 tie at the 7:58 mark. The Eagles went on an 8-3 run to take a 27-22 lead. Hampden-Sydney cut the lead to two points on a Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan School) three-pointer, but Mary Washington would maintain their advantage, holding a 29-27 lead at halftime.

Both teams were unable to score in the first three and a half minutes of the second half untilTroy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) tied the game at 29-29 with a lay-in. The Tigers increased their lead to six points on a King three-pointer and took a seven-point lead, 42-35, on a three from Prehmus 11:02 left to play. Leading 42-37, Hampden-Sydney went on a 13-5 run to build their largest lead, 55-42, with just four minutes to play. Mary Washington would be able to cut the lead to nine points several times over the final couple of minutes, but that would be as close as they would get as the Tigers went on for the 62-53 win.

Hampden-Sydney had three players score in double figures and was led by Turner King with 20 points, while Prehmus finished with 17 points, five assists, and no turnovers in 35 minutes of action. Also scoring in double-figures was Troy Kaase with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds. Mary Washington was led by Justin Baker who scored 21 points, while Brandon Altmann added 13 points. The Eagles leading scorer, Matt Hale, was held scoreless.

The Tigers shot 47.8 (22-of-46) percent from the fie, including 42.1 (8-of-19) percent from behind-the-arc and 62.5 (10-of-16) percent from the charity stripe, while Mary Washington ended up at 43.5 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range. The Tigers out-rebounded the Eagles by a margin of five, 30-25.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, January 5, at 5:00 pm against New Jersey City on the second day of the Christopher Newport Captains Classic. Fans can also catch all the exciting hardwood action on WFLO 95.7 FM or www.hsc.edu.