HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (February 20, 2010)—Though the Tigers stayed with #10 Virginia Wesleyan for much of the first half, the Marlins built up a lead in the second half that they would not relinquish as the Tigers fell 89-79. Senior Jonathan Mudd (Miami, FL/American) however, had a career-day with his first double-double on career-highs 25 points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers took the early lead with an 8-0 to start the game, but the Marlins combated that run with a 6-2 of their own to make it a 10-6 game three and a half minutes in. Over the next four minutes, Hampden-Sydney again pushed its lead to eight with a Randall Ward (Richmond, VA/John Marshall) jumper.

Virginia Wesleyan, trailing 17-9, sparked a 9-2 run to cut its deficit to just one at 19-18 with 11:04 remaining in the half. A Harrison George (Raleigh, NC/Leesville) three put the Tigers back up 22-18, but the Marlins again closed the gap to 23-22 on a Stephen Fields lay up.

A Lane Medlin (West Point, VA/Fork Union) jumper gave the Tigers a three point cushion, but Fields and the Marlins again fired back. The two teams traded baskets with two ties - the second at 30-30 with 3:17 left in the stanza.

Virginia Wesleyan then outscored Hampden-Sydney 8-3 in the final minutes to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room.

The Marlins extended their lead to eight when Chris Astorga knocked down a three to put his squad up 47-39, but the Tigers were not out. After Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) made it 47-41, George scored six straight points to tie the game at 47 at the 14:14 mark.

Fields then hit a jumper that led to a 8-1 run to put the Marlins up 55-48 with 10:33 left to play. The Tigers, after a Mudd triple, got as close as 59-56, but Virginia Wesleyan again pushed it out to a 68-60 lead with just over six and a half to play.

The Tigers kept the game in single digits, but the Marlins were able to keep their distance and ice the game from the foul line.

Mudd led the Tigers with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while King notched 18 points and George added 15. On the day, Hampden-Sydney was 50% from the field on 25-50 shooting while they connected on 5-11 (45.5%) three's and 24-32 (75%) of its free throws.

Fields led all scorers with 34 points while Donald Vaughn scored 23 points on 9-11 shooting. The Marlins were 31-64 (48.4%) from the floor and 7-19 (36.8%) from beyond the arc.

Hampden-Sydney, which falls to 13-12 on the year and 8-8 in the ODAC, will secure the fifth seed going into the ODAC Tournament if Washington & Lee loses to #12 Eastern Mennonite. If the Generals win, however, the Tigers will be the sixth seeded team and play a first round game on Tuesday.