HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (February 24, 2009)—Hampden-Sydney outscored Lynchburg College 34-19 in an impressive second half en route to a 68-53 victory in the first round of the 2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament.
With the win, sixth-seeded Hampden-Sydney improves to 13-13 overall and advances to the ODAC quarterfinals in Salem, Virginia on Friday, February 27 where it will square off with No. 3 seed Roanoke College at 8:00 pm.
After going into the locker room knotted at 34 with the 11th-seeded Hornets, the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure, leading to a runaway second half.
A K.C. Mendez jumper with 8:56 to play in the game brought Lynchburg within 50-48, but Hampden-Sydney responded admirably, embarking on a game-clinching 9-0 run that was capped by a Shane Payne (Weston, FL/Sagemont) free throw with 3:30 remaining giving the Tigers a 59-48 advantage.
Mendez ended the Hornets' 6:12 scoring drought with another jumper with 2:44 to play, but Hampden-Sydney freshman guard Ben Jessee (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) answered immediately with four straight points, sending the lead back into double figures where it would stay for the final two minutes.
It was a tale of two halves for the Tigers and Hornets, as Lynchburg kept the pressure on throughout the first half. Hornets' leading scorer and rebounder Mason Wooldridge poured in 11 first half points and grabbed six boards, epitomizing the offensive efficiency and poise that resulted in just one Lynchburg turnover in the first half and put the Hornets on the line 13 times compared to just six for the Tigers.
Lynchburg led by as much as 10 in the opening stanza before a 9-0 Hampden-Sydney scoring spurt snuffed out the Hornets' early momentum.
Feeling the urgency of potentially not making the annual trip to the Salem Civic Center, Hampden-Sydney revved up its defensive intensity midway through the second half, turning a tight game into a struggle for Lynchburg offensively.
The Hornets turned the ball over 10 times in the second frame. Wooldridge scored just two points in the final 20 minutes and guard Steven Echols, who torched Hampden-Sydney for 22 points, six rebounds and six assists in the teams' first meeting, was held to just eight points and 3-for-11 shooting for the game.
Hampden-Sydney shot 54.2 percent in the second half and put forth a balanced offensive attack that kept the Hornets' defense on its heels. Payne scored eight of his 14 points in the second, and polished off a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. A 29.4 percent shooter from beyond the arc for the season, Payne knocked down all three of his three-point attempts.
Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and corralled eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Jessee added 12 for the Tigers.
Wooldridge finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Teammate K.C. Mendez chipped in with 11 points for Lynchburg, which closed its season with a 4-22 record.
