HARRISONBURG, VA – Hampden-Sydney Basketball grinded out a late 71-61 win on the road at Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday night from Yoder Arena.

A physical affair featuring evenly matched squads saw seven ties and 15 lead changes as the Tigers didn't take over firm control of the game until the final few minutes. The game was highlighted by an old-school battle of pivot men in centers Khobi Williamson (Norfolk, VA / Maury) and EMU's David Falk in front of a boisterous Royals' home crowd, and the two teams gave the fans their money's worth.

The Tigers led 10-9 seven minutes in after a Falk layup, but the Tigers took momentum thereafter, going on a 15-7 run to go ahead 25-16 with seven minutes remaining in the half. A Marcel Crump three-point play at 6:03 sparked the Royals, and they cut the deficit down to two, 25-23, with 4:40 left until intermission. Williamson took over from there, scoring the game's next five points to put the Tigers back ahead 30-23 with 4:07 remaining in the opening stanza.

Despite the quick offensive outburst, the two teams began sputtering until a Falk dunk at the 1:43 mark ignited Eastern Mennonite and got the fans rocking. The Tigers turned over the ball on their next possession then fouled RJ Sims as he made both free throws. Another H-SC turnover led to a Ryan Yates three-pointer to tie the game at 30-30 with 1:05 to go. Two Williamson freebies with 29 ticks left on the clock gave H-SC a 32-30 lead, and the Tigers forced a tough Sims missed three at the buzzer to go into halftime with the lead.

The second-half was as evenly matched as a basketball game can be through the first 14 minutes as neither team would lead by more than two points. The Royals took a 51-50 advantage on a Crump jumper with 6:31 left. Eleven seconds later, JaVonte Reddick (Richmond, VA / L.C. Bird) drained a corner-three to jump start what would prove to be a virtual shootout over the final six minutes.

Greg Lewis (Mechanicsville, VA / Hanover) stole the ball from Sims on EMU's next possession, leading to a Mike Murray (Norfolk, VA / Norfolk Christian) transition layup. Sims coughed up the ball for the second trip in a row, once again leading to another Murray fastbreak layup as a gassed Royals defense struggled to get past half court, putting the Tigers up 57-51 at 5:41. Yates and Sasha Obradovic (Belgrade, Serbia / Hawaii Prep) each traded five points apiece over the next 78 seconds, but then a James Williams shot from deep and two Falk free throws cut Eastern Mennonite's deficit down to just one, 62-61, and stalling the H-SC momentum with 3:24 left in the contest.

Williamson put the team on his shoulders, making a jumper on the next possession and then throwing down a dunk following a Falk turnover, giving the Tigers a 66-61 lead with 2:11 remaining. Kwa McDonald was sent to the foul line for a one-and-one just eight seconds later, but he missed the front end, and Murray threw in the dagger with a circus layup at the 1:33 mark to put Hampden-Sydney up 68-61. The Tigers defense locked up the Royals from there and closed out the game at the free-throw line.

Williamson had another outstanding game with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double as he shot 10-19 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line. Murray notched 15 points, making seven of his 11 field goal attempts. Obradovic contributed 10 points and seven rebounds, and Lewis contributed seven rebounds and four steals.

Falk notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, converting 8-of-13 shots but went just 3-of-7 at the free throw line. Crump contributed 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists but turned over the ball seven times.

Hampden-Sydney shot 48.3% for the game compared to 44.2% for Eastern Mennonite. Neither team shot well from three range, but the Royals held the advantage there with a 6-for-19 output while H-SC made just three in a 3-for-11 performance. Both squads also struggled at the foul line as each barely treaded over the 50% mark. The Tigers dominated on the glass to the tune of a +13 rebounding margin (41-28) and a 12-4 edge in second-chance points. A high-turnover affair, H-SC had 20 giveaways while EMU recorded 19.

Hampden-Sydney hosts #15 Virginia Wesleyan College at 7 pm on Wednesday night for Bojangles' Night. The first 100 H-SC students will receive a free Hampden-Sydney Basketball t-shirt courtesy of Bojangles'.