HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Hampden-Sydney College, ranked No. 8 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, plays Widener (PA) University in the first game of the 2023 Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic hosted by the College of Wooster (OH) on Friday, November 17, at 6 p.m. in Wooster, Ohio. The Tigers have an overall record of 2-0, including a 74-53 home win past defending NCAA Division III National Champion and preseason No. 1 Christopher Newport University on Nov. 8. The Pride have a record of 3-0 and received votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. H-SC will play either host Wooster or Rose-Hulman (IN) on Saturday, Nov. 18, at either 2:15 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. The games will be available to watch on the North Coast Network.

(8) Hampden-Sydney (2-0) vs. (RV) Widener (PA) (3-0) | STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES (PDF)
Location: Scot Center | Wooster, OH
Date: Friday, Nov. 17, 2023
Time: 6 p.m.

(8) Hampden-Sydney (3-0) vs. Rose-Hulman (IN) (2-0) | STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES (PDF)
Location: Scot Center | Wooster, OH
Date: Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023
Time: 4:30 p.m.
 
Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough
H-SC is led by the fifth-year head coach who took over the program on April 4, 2019. The former head coach at Huntingdon (AL) College from 2016-19, Kimbrough is the 19th head coach in the 114-year history of the storied Hampden-Sydney program. He is no stranger to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), having played four years at Guilford (NC) College and coached six years with the Quakers, and one year at Washington and Lee University. Kimbrough is 54-35 overall at the College, including 31-21 in ODAC games. Caleb was both the 2022-23 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III District 6 Coach of the Year, and the ODAC Men's Basketball Bob Johnson Coach of the Year.
 
Scouting Hampden-Sydney
Through two games, H-SC has been extremely balanced offensively with only two players averaging in double-figure scoring among its five starters that are each scoring at least 6.0 points per game, while 10 Tigers are playing at least 10-plus minutes per game. H-SC has been led by senior guard and team captain Adam Brazil (Mooresville, NC) with his 13.5 points (73% FG), 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists, along with senior forward Davidson Hubbard (Charlotte, NC) with his 11.5 points (58% FG) and 7.5 rebounds. Joining them in the lineup have been senior guard Alex Elliott (Marietta, GA) (8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds), senior guard/forward and team captain Josiah Hardy (Ashburn) (7.0 points) and fifth-year guard Ryan Clements (Conyers, GA) (6.0 points). Senior guard DJ Wright (Greensboro, GA) (7.5 points) and junior guard Ayman McGowan (Memphis, TN) (7.0 points) have led the bench scoring through two games. The Tigers are shooting 46% (53-115) from the field, including 38% (18-48) on three-point field goals, and 69% (24-35) at the free throw line. H-SC has averaged 74.0 points, and allowed 50.5 points, for a +23.5 scoring margin.

Scouting Widener
Through three games, WU has four players averaging in double figure scoring among eight that are scoring at least 6.0 points per game. The Pride have been led by senior guard/forward Kevin Schenk with his 14.7 points (59% FG) and 5.7 rebounds, graduate forward Dominic Dunn with his 13.3 points, graduate guard/forward Steven Matlack with his 11.0 points (62% FG) and graduate guard Howie Rankine with his 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. WU shoots 48% (107-223) from the field, including 33% (29-87) on three-pointers, and 70% (33-47) at the line; scoring 92.0 points, and yielding 75.7 points, for a +16.3 scoring margin.

Series Histories
H-SC and WU are playing for the first time ever, and a possible contest vs. Rose-Hulman would be for the first time ever, as well. The Tigers and Wooster have met two times previously, both games in the NCAA Tournament ... H-SC winning 74-66 on March 12, 1999 in Fleet Gym ... and Wooster winning 78-74 on March 22, 2003 in the Final Four third-place game at the Salem Civic Center.

Tigers Take Down No. 1 CNU
H-SC opened the 2023-24 campaign with a 74-53 home win past defending NCAA Division III National Champion and top-ranked Christopher Newport on Nov. 8 in S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium at Kirby Field House. It marked the second consecutive season that the Tigers have defeated the No. 1 Captains, including an 85-70 non-conference road win at CNU on December 13, 2022 in Newport News, stopping a 22-game home winning streak by the Captains. H-SC led 31-22 at halftime, and by as many as 24 points in the second half, in arguably one of the biggest wins in program history, while believed to be the first Top 10 match-up at home, as well. Davidson Hubbard led the Tigers with game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds for the 18th double-double of his career. Adam Brazil finished with 15 points and a game-high six assists, adding six rebounds. Alex Elliott contributed nine points and eight rebounds, adding three assists, while Ryan Clements, Josiah Hardy and DJ Wright each had seven points ... Clements adding a game-high three steals and Hardy adding six rebounds. H-SC shot 46% (27-59) from the field, including 43% (9-21) on three-point field goals, and 61% (11-18) at the free throw line.

HoopDirt.com D3 Coach of the Week
Fifth-year head coach Caleb Kimbrough was named the Week 1 HoopDirt.com D3 Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. He led the Tigers to a pair of season-opening wins, including the 74-53 home win past CNU, and a 74-48 home win past Greensboro (NC) on Nov. 12, leading 39-22 at the intermission and by as many as 33 points in the second half en route to the victory. Coach Kimbrough is now eligible for the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2023-24 college basketball season.

Career Watch
Ryan Clements ranks 35th in career scoring with 1,111 career points in 89 career games (12.5). Russell Turner '92 is the all-time leader with 2,272 career points. Clements is tied for ninth in career steals with 148 (1.7). Ralph Baker '89 is the all-time leader with 258 career steals. Davidson Hubbard ranks 11th in career blocks with 45 career blocks in 60 career games (0.8). Mike Thompson '04 is the all-time leader with 136 career blocks.

8th In D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25
H-SC was ranked No. 8 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. It's the highest preseason national ranking since 2003-04 when the program was ranked fifth. The Tigers earned 382 points in the poll to easily secure a spot among the Top 10. H-SC completed 2022-23 with a final record of 22-7, its finest season in 10 years, while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament—only the fourth 20-win season in 20 years.

1st In ODAC Preseason Poll
H-SC was picked first in the ODAC Preseason Poll. It's the first time that the Tigers have been voted preseason number one in the ODAC since prior to the 2003-04 season. H-SC earned 140 points, including eight first-place votes among the 13 conference schools. The Tigers were followed closely in the preseason poll by four-time defending ODAC Tournament Champion and 2022 National Champion Randolph-Macon in second place with 135 points, including the other five first-place votes. Guilford (NC) was picked third with 122 points, followed by Virginia Wesleyan (104), Washington and Lee (102), Roanoke (96), Bridgewater (65), Shenandoah (63), Averett (51), Ferrum (48), Lynchburg (45), Eastern Mennonite (23) and Randolph (20).

Strength of Schedule
H-SC is playing a difficult schedule this season, one that includes four schools ranked among the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, including top-ranked Christopher Newport, No. 3 John Carroll (OH), No. 11 Swarthmore (PA) and No. 14 Randolph-Macon, along with three schools receiving votes in the poll—Guilford, Mary Washington and Widener (PA). CNU, R-MC, JCU, Swarthmore, UMW and Widener each advanced to the postseason NCAA Tournament. In addition, Guilford and William Peace (NC), along with possible opponents Wooster (OH) and Rose-Hulman (IN), each fell in their respective conference tournament championship contests a year ago.

2023-24 Team Captains
Leading the Tigers are fifth-year forward Miles Harris (Virginia Beach), along with seniors Adam Brazil and Josiah Hardy. Harris and Brazil are each serving in the leadership role for their second season, while Hardy is a first-year captain. Miles is the son of Randy Harris and Corey Bacs and is majoring in economics and business. Adam is the son of Mark and Kristen Brazil and is majoring in English. Josiah is the son of Vernal Hardy and Felicia Miller and is majoring in economics and business.
 
Three Former Tigers Are Division I Head Coaches
H-SC currently has three former basketball team members and graduates of the College that are serving as NCAA Division I head coaches. Russell Turner '92 is in his 14th year at UC Irvine ... Ryan Odom '96 is in his first season at VCU and his eighth season as a DI head coach (UMBC, Utah State) ... Griff Aldrich '96 is in his sixth year at Longwood. Entering this season, Turner was 265-170 at UCI ... Odom was 141-85 overall, including 44-25 in two years at USU and 97-60 in five years at UMBC ... Aldrich was 88-72 at Longwood.

NCAA Tournament History
H-SC has made 15 overall NCAA Tournament appearances since 1989, winning at least one game in 12 of 15 years, while compiling an NCAA Tournament record of 20-16. The Tigers were National Runners-Up in 1999, falling to UW-Platteville 76-75 in double-overtime in the National Championship contest, and the Garnet & Grey advanced to the Final Four in 2003, falling to Gustavus Adolphus (MN) 79-68 in the National Semifinals, before falling to Wooster (OH) 78-74 in the third-place game. H-SC advanced to the Elite Eight in 1995, while reaching the Sweet 16 in 1992 and 1994. The Tigers have hosted 17 NCAA Tournament games since 1992, compiling an impressive 12-5 record in those postseason home tournament games.
 
Up Next
H-SC will play either host Wooster or Rose-Hulman on Saturday, Nov. 18, at either 2:15 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. The Tigers return home to begin ODAC competition after Thanksgiving, hosting Averett on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in Fleet Gym.

Complete game notes are available via the linked PDF above.