HAMPDEN SYDNEY, Va. – The Hampden-Sydney College Men's Basketball Team (14-7, 7-5 ODAC) overcame an eight-point first-half deficit to defeat visiting Emory & Henry College (3-18, 2-10 ODAC) Monday evening at Fleet Gymnasium. The contest, which was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, January 31, was postponed nine days due to an outbreak of norovirus on the HSC campus.
Emory & Henry connected on a trio of three-pointers in the opening 2:30 of the game for a 9-5 lead but Hampden Sydney responded with a 9-2 run to go up 14-11 with 14:11 on the clock. With the score tied at 20 later in the half, the Wasps scored seven straight points and later pushed their lead to 31-23 on a jumper by freshman guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.). The Tigers clawed their way back into the game, however E&H was able to take a 36-34 lead into the break on Shelor's third triple of the half.
The two teams traded baskets back and forth for the opening five and a half minutes of the second half but a 6-0 run by Hampden-Sydney made the score 51-44 with 12:01 left to play. E&H immediately closed the gap back to four points after another long-range connection by Shelor. The Tigers spent the next eight minutes slowly increasing their advantage, going up by as much as 13 points with 2:05 remaining.
Emory & Henry remained tough in the closing two minutes and got the deficit down to single digits with 13 seconds left (75-66), but would get no closer as Hampden-Sydney claimed the 77-66 win.
HSC placed four players in double figures led by Jake Duncan, who notched 14 points and seven rebounds. Mike Murray had 14 points off the bench and added five boards, two assists and two steals. Greg Lewis and Mitch Owens contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively to the Tigers' cause.
As a team, Hampden-Sydney shot 54.2 percent (26-for-48) from the field and overcame 11 first-half turnovers for a strong second half. The Tigers connected on 19-of-28 free throws in the game including a 16-for-24 (66.7%) clip in the closing 20 minutes. HSC held a 36-27 rebounding advantage and a 32-10 lead in points in the paint.
Shelor paced all players with 20 points, connecting on six shots from downtown. He added two rebounds and three assists as well. Sophomore guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) had 18 points, seven boards and four assists while freshman forward Noah Walker (Bristol, Va.) chipped in eight points.
The Wasps hit 12 three-pointers in the game (12-for-27 – 44.4%) but only shot 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from the floor during the second half. E&H only got to the line 17 times in the contest, hitting 10 attempts. Solid defense in the first half produced a 16-2 lead in points off turnovers.
Emory & Henry will remain on the road on Wednesday when it travels to face Bridgewater College in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference contest. Tipoff between the Wasps and Eagles is set for 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15