HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA – Hampden-Sydney Basketball overcame a slow start to pull away from the North Carolina Battling Bishops for a 73-60 win in the opening game of the South Region Classic hosted by the University of Mary Washington.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: H-SC 73, North Carolina Wesleyan 60
• Records: Hampden-Sydney 1-1, North Carolina Wesleyan 1-2
• Location: Fredericksburg, VA – Ron Rosner Arena

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers trailed 7-0 four minutes in and found themselves down 24-11 with 8:25 left in the first half as cold shooting, turnovers, and numerous NCW offensive rebounds fueled the Battling Bishops.
• H-SC then went on a 16-4 run propelled by five different scorers to find themselves down just one, 28-27, with 3:21 on the clock.
• NCW's Marcus Williams scored on a layup at 2:39, but H-SC scored five of the last six points in the frame to go into halftime leading 32-31.
• After trailing by 13, the Tigers outscored the Battling Bishops 21-7 in the last 8:25 of the opening half, holding NCW to 3-12 shooting with four turnovers
• Jesse Simpson opened the half for North Carolina Wesleyan with a three-pointer to take back the lead, but two buckets from Hunter Kuehn (Raleigh, NC/Sanderson) and a Mike Murray (Norfolk, VA/Norfolk Christian) layup put the Tigers out in front 38-34.
• After a Devontae Williams layup, Jake Duncan (Williamsburg, VA/Williamsburg Christian) drained back-to-back three-pointers to give H-SC a 44-36 lead at 16:09.
• A 12-5 NCW run over the next three minutes trimmed their deficit down to 49-48, but consecutive layups from JaVonte Reddick (Richmond, VA/L.C. Bird) and Guilherme Guimaraes (Ribeirão Preto, Brazil/Miller School) stymied the momentum
• The lead continued to float between 4-8 points until the 1:22 mark when NC Wesleyan began fouling and the Tigers made 9-of-10 down the stretch to seal the win

TIGER TOP PERFORMERS

• Josh Katowitz (Raleigh, NC/Heritage) led all Tigers with 10 points
• Murray tallied nine points, five rebounds, and five assists while committing just one turnover in 25 minutes
• Guimaraes posted a team-high eight rebounds to go with six points
• Duncan contributed nine points and three boards as he shot 3-for-6 from three
• Josh Lancaster (Charlotte, NC / Phillip O. Berry), playing against his former school, scored seven points

FOR THE FOES

• Devontae Williams notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds
• Jesse Simpson and D.J. Weaver each scored 11 while Adrian Moore added on 12

STATS OF THE GAME

• Thirteen Tigers saw action in the game and all 13 scored
• Hampden-Sydney's shot defense was excellent, holding NCW to a 28.8% performance from the floor, but allowed 30 offensive rebounds that NCW converted into 17 second chance points
• Despite the large number of offensive rebounds allowed, H-SC still maintained a 39-36 advantage on the boards
• The Tigers offense had an impressive shooting performance, converting 61.9% of their shot attempts and going 6-12 from deep range, but committed 22 turnovers resulting in 20 Battling Bishop points off turnovers
• The H-SC bench accounted for 38 points, accounting for 52% of the Tiger points

UP NEXT

• Hampden-Sydney plays host Mary Washington on Sunday at 3 pm in the second day of action at the South Region Classic.