SALEM, VA (February 28, 2009)�In a topsy-turvy quarterfinal round of the 2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament, the best was certainly saved for last.
On a day when top-seeded Guilford and second-seeded Randolph-Macon fell to their respective opponents in eye-opening upsets, No. 6 Hampden-Sydney sent the final aftershock through the national scene with a 70-65 upset of third-seeded Roanoke College at the Salem Civic Center.
The Tigers defeated the Maroons for the sixth time in the past seven ODAC Tournaments and advance to Saturday night's semifinal round where they will square off with seventh-seeded Virginia Wesleyan, which stunned the No. 2 Yellow Jackets 76-63 earlier in the evening.
What appeared to be a runaway victory for Hampden-Sydney over the first 32 minutes nearly became a nightmare for Tiger faithful.
With a balanced offensive attack and active defensive effort, Hampden-Sydney shot 52 percent from the floor and held Roanoke to 25 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes to take a 35-20 lead into the locker room.
Hampden-Sydney (14-13) kept its foot on the accelerator to begin the second half, using a trio of Shane Payne (Weston, FL/Sagemont) triples and five points from Jonathan Mudd (Miami, FL/American) to push the lead to 23 points, 60-37, with 8:11 to play.
But Roanoke (19-7) refused to give in, especially diminutive point guard Drew Gaeng.
The 5-foot-9 senior ignited a furious Maroons' rally by scoring 15 of his team's next 18 points, all on deep three-pointers. The final strike in his long-range barrage brought the Maroons within 64-58 at the 3:01 mark.
The incredible 25-4 run continued as Roanoke's Curtis Peery and Melvin Felix connected on jumpers to cut the deficit to just two, 64-62, with 1:39 remaining. Hampden-Sydney's Byron Lawton (High Point, NC/Wesleyan) finally put an end to a 2:12 Hampden-Sydney scoring drought by making 1-of-2 at the line to put the Tigers ahead 65-62.
With a chance to draw closer or even tie, Roanoke misfired on its next four shot attempts while the Tigers sank enough free throws in the waning moments to keep the Maroons at bay and earn the victory.
Payne led Hampden-Sydney with 16 points and seven rebounds. First team All-ODAC honoreeTurner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) added 13 points and eight boards while Ben Jessee (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) and Lane Medlin (West Point, VA/Fork Union) chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Medlin, who fouled out of the contest after just 11 minutes of action, knocked down three of his five three-point attempts.
The Maroons were paced by their first team All-ODAC performer Curtis Peery, who equaled Hampden-Sydney's Payne with a game-high 16 tallies. Gaeng finished with 15 and Parrish Walker notched 11 points.
Hampden-Sydney will participate in the second of Saturday's semifinal match ups, the first of which pits eighth-seeded Washington and Lee, who defeated No. 1 Guilford 82-76 in double overtime in the first game of the day, against fourth-seeded Bridgewater College. The Tigers and Marlins will follow at approximately 8:00 pm.
