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HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA - Leon Hargrove (Raleigh, NC / Middle Creek) stole a Mary Washington inbound pass with 3.3 seconds left, passed upcourt to Mike Murray (Norfolk, VA/Norfolk Christian), who then hoisted up a running three-pointer from about 30 feet to give H-SC a 58-57 win at the buzzer. His shot bounced high off the front of the rim, well above the height of the backboard, but came nearly straight down to go through the net. Hampden-Sydney improves to 3-0 while Mary Washington drops to 0-4.

The Tigers offense was cold from the field nearly all game as H-SC shot under 40% from the field and under 50% from the foul line, but the defense proved to be relentless as they forced 22 turnovers and scored 26 points off those giveaways.

Hampden-Sydney trailed by as much as 10 points on several occasions in the first half and went into intermission down 25-17. The Tigers opened the second half on a 13-2 run over five minutes to take a 30-27 lead, their first lead of the game since scoring the opening bucket. Mary Washington scored eight of the next 10 points to go ahead 35-32 at 13:07 and held a six-point advantage, 53-47, at the 3:36 mark.

Back-to-back layups from Murray and Greg Lewis (Mechanicsville, VA / Hanover) trimmed the deficit to just two at 2:23. Following a timeout, Brent Mahoney went backdoor on a baseline cut to rim for a dunk and scored a layup to give UMW a 57-51 lead with 56 seconds remaining. Ten seconds later, Lewis made a three-pointer from the right wing, but Mahoney made a costly error and fouled Lewis on the shot, allowing Lewis to convert the four-point play, making it a 57-55 game with 44 seconds remaining.

On the Eagles next possession, Taylor Johnson was called for an offensive foul, resulting in the Tigers getting the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game with 20 seconds left. Murray eventually dribbled into the paint where he was met by several Eagle defenders, and John Lutkenhaus tied up the ball for a jump ball with the possession arrow point in UMW's direction. Hampden-Sydney called a timeout to draw up their last defensive possession, and the underneath out of bounds pass by Johnson was picked off in the front court by Hargrove who passed it ahead to Murray for the game-winning shot.

Lewis finished with a game-high 19 points, all in the second half, as he shot 6-12 overall, 4-10 from three, and 3-3 at the foul line with two steals. Murray scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, shooting 7-13 from the floor and 3-5 from beyond the arc, along with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Hargrove posted a team-high five boards along with four steals.

Matt Forrest led all Eagles with 15 points to go with five caroms. Curtis Rowser III added on 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Lutkenhaus contributed 11 points, four boards, and three thefts. Mahoney tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and Johnson had a game-high 10 rebounds.

Hampden-Sydney shot 39.3% (22-56) overall, 26.9% (7-26) from three, and 43.8% (7-16) from the free throw line. Mary Washington was 45.7% (21-46) from the field, 37.5% (9-24) beyond the arc, and 75.0% (6-8) at the charity stripe. The Eagles held a 38-28 rebounding advantage, but the Tigers committed 14 turnovers to 26 for UMW, resulting in H-SC holding a 26-9 edge in points off turnovers.

Hampden-Sydney hosts Roanoke in the ODAC and home opener on Wednesday, December 3 at 7 pm.