HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA – Lynchburg College held off a late rally from Hampden-Sydney Basketball to come out with a 79-72 win on the road.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Hampden-Sydney 72, Lynchburg 79
• Records: Hampden-Sydney 14-6, 6-5 ODAC; Lynchburg 15-5, 6-5 ODAC
• Location: Hampden-Sydney, VA – Fleet Gymnasium

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a close game throughout most of the first half with the score tied at 24-24 with 7:27 left in the frame, but a 12-2 run from the Hornets gave the visitors a 36-26 lead with 3:49 to play.
• Still trailing by 10 with 1:21 left on the clock, Gray Cheers (Supply, NC/West Brunswick) ended the half on a personal 5-0 spurt and block an Austen Arnold three pointer just before the halftime buzzer to make it a 40-35 game at intermission
• Lynchburg opened up the second half the aggressor and led anywhere from 8-10+ points the majority of the half.
• LC held a 72-60 advantage with 4:51 left in the game, but H-SC scored eight of the next 10 to trim the deficit to just six, 74-68, at 3:21.
• Both teams went cold from the field for the next couple of minutes, but Mike Murray (Norfolk, VA/Norfolk Christian) picked off a ross court pass above the three point line and raced down to score a fastbreak layup to make it just a four point game with 49 seconds remaining, but from there Lynchburg closed out the game at the free throw line

TIGER TOP PERFORMERS

• Murray led the way with 21 points as he sank all 10 free throw attempts
• Cheers came off the bench for a career-high 16 points in 19 minutes and added on five boards and two blocks
• Andrew Evans (Raleigh, NC/Millbrook) tallied a team-high seven rebounds along with four points, three assists, and two steals

FOR THE FOES

• Zack Burnett led all players with 23 points
• Arnold notched 18 points and three steals
• Alex Graves contributed 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals
• Lyndon White grabbed a game-high nine boards along with four assists

STATS OF THE GAME

• Lynchburg shot 50% for the game while H-SC checked in at 44%
• LC made 7 of their 20 three point attempts compared to a 4-15 mark for the Tigers
• H-SC held a decisive 38-24 advantage on the glass
• The Tigers struggled with turnovers again, giving up the ball 18 times, resulting in 23 points off turnovers for the Hornets.

UP NEXT

• Hampden-Sydney hosts Roanoke College on Saturday at 2 pm.