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Tigers dominate several statistical categories, but shoot just 27 percent in loss LaGRANGE, GA (November 21, 2008)—Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) tallied a game-high 24 points and swingman Shane Payne (Weston, FL/Sagemont) scored 10 points and snared four rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Hampden-Sydney dropped a tough 59-58 decision to Maryville College (Tenn.) in the opening contest of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic hosted by LaGrange College. The Tigers, who drop to 0-2 on the young season, have lost their two games by a combined two points. A scrappy Hampden-Sydney bunch nearly erased a five-point deficit with 40 seconds to play. After Maryville's Eryk Watson sank two free throws to put the Scots ahead 57-52, Tigers' sophomore guard Matt Partsch (Roanoke, VA/Hidden Valley) drained a triple from the top of the key to bring H-SC within 57-55 with 24 seconds remaining. On Maryville's ensuing possession, Payne intercepted a cross court pass and threw it ahead to Jonathan Mudd (Miami, FL/American), who was unable to convert a difficult, contested runner over a Maryville defender with 10 seconds on the clock. The Scots collected the rebound and proceeded to nail both free throws, giving them a 59-55 edge with four seconds to play. Payne's three-pointer as time expired accounted for the final 59-58 score. The Tigers crawled back from an early deficit to take a lead into the halftime break. Behind seven quick points from Watson, who notched 20 for the game, the Scots sprinted out to an 11-2 lead with 15:51 to play in the opening half. From that juncture until halftime, Hampden-Sydney buckled down on the defensive end, ending the half on a 23-9 run in the final 15:51 and holding Maryville scoreless for a stretch of six minutes in the midpoint of the half. The Tigers held the Scots without a point in the final 3:45 of the first frame en route to a 25-20 lead after 20 minutes of action. Maryville opened the second half with a 13-4 run of its own to build a 33-29 lead at the 14:46 mark; a lead they would not relinquish until a King three-point play gave Hampden-Sydney a 44-42 advantage with 7:23 remaining. A King three-pointer on the Tigers' next possession pushed the lead to five, 47-42, at the 6:41 mark. Following a King free throw that gave Hampden-Sydney a 50-49 lead with just over four minutes to play, Maryville's Jared Laverdiere knocked down a jumper to put the Scots up for good, 51-50, with 3:56 to go in the game. In addition to King and Payne, Hampden-Sydney received solid play from point guard Byron Lawton (High Point, NC/Wesleyan) who scored six points, grabbed six boards and dished out four assists. The Tigers collected an astonishing 18 offensive rebounds on their way to outrebounding Maryville 40-33, and made more free throws (14-19) than the Scots attempted (7-8), but made just 17 of their 64 field goal attempts (26.6 percent). Maryville shot 46.9 percent from the floor and was led by Watson's 20 points and five caroms. Guard Wes Lambert came off the bench to score 13 points and was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. The Scots' Christopher Orr scored nine points to go along with seven rebounds. Hampden-Sydney returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, November 22 at 4:00 pm as it squares off with tournament host LaGrange College. Tune into 95.7 WFLO-FM or access the live webcast to follow all of the Hampden-Sydney basketball action. www.hsc.edu/athletics |
