Hampden-Sydney Men’s Basketball Holds Off Emory & Henry, 87-83, Saturday Afternoon

Hampden-Sydney Men’s Basketball Holds Off Emory & Henry, 87-83, Saturday Afternoon

HAMPDEN SYDNEY, Va. – The Hampden-Sydney College Men's Basketball Team (4-2, 1-1 ODAC) held off a furious rally late in the second half by Emory & Henry College (2-5, 0-2 ODAC) to pick up an 87-83 victory Saturday afternoon at Fleet Gymnasium.

Down by 12 with 6:34 to play, the Wasps went on a 19-6 run, hitting six-straight three-pointers to take a 76-75 advantage with 2:17 on the clock. The Tigers hit seven-of-nine free throws in the last 36 seconds of the game to seal the victory despite Emory & Henry's continued success from long range, keeping the game within a possession until the final second.

E&H and HSC battled through six ties and two lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of the game to a 17-all score. The Tigers went up by four later in the half but E&H responded for a 30-30 tie at the 3:28 mark of the half. Three more ties and lead changes followed before the intermission as the Wasps took a 38-36 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the break, Hampden-Sydney went on a 21-5 run in the first 4:27 of the half to post its largest lead of the game at 57-43. The Wasps did not go away, however, hanging into the game until the final six-and-a-half minutes when they put on a clinic from long range to cut the margin to just one possession late.

HSC saw four players reach double figures in scoring led by Jake Duncan, who notched 21 points on eight-for-11 shooting. Mike Murray scored 18 points and had three assists while Mitch Owens contributed 15 points and three rebounds off the bench. Guilherme Guimaraes had 11 points on four-for-four shooting for the Tigers.

As a team, Hampden-Sydney shot 53.6 percent (30-for-56) from the floor, hitting 10 three-pointers. The Tigers also led 30-14 on points in the paint and scored 25 points off 15 Wasp turnovers. HSC also went 17-for-24 (70.8%) from the free throw line.

Emory & Henry also had four players with 10 or more points as junior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) put up a game-high 24 points and added six rebounds and eight assists. Freshman guard Clif Conley (Galax, Va.) went five-for-six from long range for 16 point while sophomore John Shelor (Giles, Va.) put up 14 points, hitting four threes of his own. Sophomore forward Chase Branscomb (Bristol, Tenn.) added 10 points and four rebounds with a trio of triples.

The Wasps were 29-for-59 (49.2%) from the field, putting up a season-high 16 three-pointers, including 11 in the second half alone. E&H scored 16 second-chance points as it posted a slim 33-32 rebounding advantage including a 12-10 lead on the offensive glass. Emory & Henry also forced 14 HSC turnovers, earning six steals and scoring 21 points off Tiger miscues.

Emory & Henry will return home on Wednesday when it hosts the Royals of Johnson University at Bob Johnson Court at 7:00 p.m. The Knoxville, Tennessee school, formerly known as Johnson Bible College, is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15