LYNCHBURG, VA (January 28, 2008)-Hampden-Sydney's road trip to Randolph College featured a handful of bizarre moments.
The Tigers' team bus missed the exit for its destination, and as a result, dropped Hampden-Sydney off at the gym a mere 35 minutes before tip-off.
With the ball set to be inbounded to begin the second half of play, a power surge shut off all the lights, forcing a 10 minute stoppage in the action.
No occurrence, however, was as bizarre as the game's final outcome. Behind a game-high 20 points from Pete Hamilton, Randolph College earned its program's first-ever Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory with a shocking 57-49 win over Hampden-Sydney (9-10, 4-6 ODAC) in Lynchburg.
The upstart Wildcats (3-14, 1-9 ODAC), in just their second year as a program and first as a member of the ODAC, tamed one of the conference's most storied programs by holding the Tigers to 27.8 percent shooting for the game, including a 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) effort from beyond-the-arc.
Hampden-Sydney turned the ball over 17 times in the loss and had no answer for Hamilton, who knocked down five of his eight three-point attempts. Randolph shot just 33.3 percent as a team, but made 19-of-28 free throw attempts and made the most of their three-point opportunities, connecting on 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from long range.
The Tigers dropped to 2-7 on the road this season and were never able to find an offensive groove, due in large part to Randolph's spectacular play early on.
Trailing 9-7 with 12:11 to play in the first half after a Jonathan Mudd (Miami, FL/American) jumper, the Wildcats embarked on a whirlwind 17-0 run over the next 5:59, taking a 24-9 advantage following a Derrick Woods-Morrow offensive rebound and stick-back at the 6:12 mark. A stunned Tiger squad went 0-for-7 from the floor with four turnovers during that stretch.
Fueled by nine opening half steals, Hampden-Sydney tried to demonstrate signs of life and closed the half with a promising 14-3 spurt, but still trailed 27-23 at the break.
On a night when Hampden-Sydney battled poor shooting from the floor and foul trouble for leading scorer Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) and Mudd, its leads were incredibly short-lived, preventing any major momentum shift in the final stanza. The Tigers held a narrow 33-32 lead with 12:16 to go, but proceeded to go scoreless over the next 5:23, allowing Randolph to turn four Tiger turnovers into an 8-0 run that staked the Wildcats a 40-33 advantage with 7:14 to play.
Jason Rutschman, a transfer from Eastern Mennonite University, scored 15 points for the Wildcats, and his only make from distance, a deep attempt from the right corner that gave Randolph a 48-39 lead with 2:40 remaining, proved to be the fatal blow. From that point, Woods-Morrow, who came into the game shooting below 50 percent from the foul line, and Timothy Clarke each went 4-for-4 from the line to help close out Hampden-Sydney.
Ben Jessee (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) led the Tigers with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting. King shot just 1-for-11 from the field, but managed 10 points with an 8-for-8 effort from the charity stripe. He also recorded a game-high three steals. Shane Payne (Weston, FL/Sagemont) pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with his six points.
Hampden-Sydney concludes its road trip Saturday, January 31 when it travels to Harrisonburg, Virginia to square off with Eastern Mennonite University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
