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Senior from Raleigh, North Carolina brilliant in first start; King reaches 1,000 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (December 17, 2008)—After a difficult first six outings of the season which saw Hampden-Sydney drop four contests by a total of nine points, Tigers' head basketball coach Dee Vick decided that a shake-up was in order. After the latest outing for Hampden-Sydney, it appears that Tigers' senior guard John Barker (Raleigh, NC/Broughton) was just the cure. Making the first start of his career, the Broughton High School alumnus tallied 15 of his career-high 20 points in the first half in leading Hampden-Sydney (3-4) to an 82-60 non-conference victory over Lancaster Bible (2-6). Barker provided the opening strike of the game with a three-pointer on the Tigers' first possession and never cooled off, knocking down his first three attempts from deep and 5-of-7 triples overall in the first stanza. Barker's outside barrage was a significant portion of a three-point onslaught by Hampden-Sydney in the first half; the Tigers connected on 12 three-pointers in the first half, propelling them to a 46-38 halftime edge. Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) matched Barker's first half output with 15 points of his own to headline the Hampden-Sydney attack. Early in the second half, Lancaster Bible refused to bow out, maintaining an eight-point deficit through the first 10 minutes of the frame. A Derek Scott three pulled the Chargers to 62-54 at the 10:04 mark. But Hampden-Sydney turned up the defensive pressure en route to forcing 15 second half Charger turnovers, serving as the foundation of the game-clinching 15-0 spurt that Hampden-Sydney enjoyed over the next seven minutes. A Lane Medlin (West Point, VA/Fork Union) offensive rebound and stick-back gave Hampden-Sydney a 77-54 advantage with 3:29 to play, capping the decisive run. Andrew Risser's free throw on the Chargers' ensuing possession at 2:59 ended a lengthy scoring drought for Lancaster Bible that stretched for over seven minutes. Hampden-Sydney's lead climbed as high as 25 following a Hakeem Croom (Harlem, NY/Fishburne Military) jumper with 2:06 to play as the Tigers cruised to their third victory of the season. King led all scorers with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting and became the latest Hampden-Sydney player to surpass 1,000 points for his career. King needed just three points entering the contest, and now stands at 1,023 in just 62 games in a Tiger uniform. Barker's career-best night was the result of a 6-of-11 performance from beyond the arc and was accompanied by three assists. Medlin was solid in the middle for the Tigers with seven points and five rebounds. Billy Harrison led Lancaster Bible with 15 points while Scott chipped in with 14. Hampden-Sydney forced 22 Charger turnovers for the contest. The Tigers shot 50 percent (30-60) from the floor and 44.4 percent (16-36) from beyond the arc. Lancaster Bible shot 53.7 percent (22-41) for the game and 50 percent (6-12) from deep. Rebounds were even at 28 apiece. Hampden-Sydney will be back in action this Saturday, December 20 when it tips-off against Maryland Bible at 3:00 pm at Fleet Gymnasium. www.hsc.edu/athletics |
