Guilford hoops falls to H-SC Tiger team that just knotched their 7th win in a-row

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Ben Jessee scored 18 points in Hampden-Sydney
College’s seventh straight win, a 73-61 Old Dominion Athletic Conference
(ODAC) decision over visiting Guilford College Wednesday. The loss ends the
Quakers’ (16-8, 10-5 ODAC) four-game winning streak and drops their road
record to 6-6.

Jessee had 11 points and three three-pointers by halftime, which helped the
Tigers (16-8, 8-7 ODAC) open a 35-23 halftime lead. Teammate Randall Ward
added 10 points in the opening half, which saw the Tigers make six of their
11 three-pointers on the night.

Martin Stephenson’s (Cary, N.C./Cary) layup with 6:22 left before halftime
gave the Quakers a 17-15 edge, but it was Guilford’s final bucket until Josh
Pittman’s (Archdale, N.C./Trinity) three-pointer with 11 seconds left in the
half. With the Quakers’ offense sputtering, Hampden-Sydney drained four
three-pointers during a 20-2 run that opened a 16-point lead before
Pittman’s basket settled the halftime score.

Pittman, who scored a game-high 24 points for Guilford, tried to rally the
Quakers in the second half. His three-pointer 7:41 into period brought
Guilford to within 45-42, but Sasha Obradovic and Jessee answered with
trifectas for the Tigers, which restored a nine-point edge. The Quakers
pulled no closer than 10 points in the game’s final 10 minutes as
Hampden-Sydney made 50 percent of its second-half field goals.

Sophomore forward Harrison George (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road), a top ODAC
Player of the Year candidate, scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half
and finished with nine boards, four assists and three steals in 31 minutes.
Ru White chipped in 13 points and Ward added 12, plus four assists. The
Tigers shot 49 percent from the floor, the highest percentage by a Guilford
opponent this season. They also made all 12 free throws in the game and
outrebounded the Quakers, 34-28.

Tobi Akinsola (Cary, N.C./Word of God Christian (Bethany)) contributed 10
points and six rebounds for Guilford. Teammate Brad Monroe (Asheboro,
N.C./Eastern Randolph) tallied eight points and 12 rebounds, a career- and
game-high total.

The Quakers close out the regular season at home Saturday versus
league-rival Eastern Mennonite University, which is ranked 14th in this
week’s D3hoops.com Poll.

Box Score
Guilford vs Hampden-Sydney
02/16/11 7:00 p.m. at Hampden-Sydney, VA – Kirby Gym
At Hampden-Sydney, VA – Kirby Gym
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 73, GUILFORD 61
GUILFORD (16-8, 10-5 ODAC)
PITTMAN, Josh 9-20 2-4 24; AKINSOLA, Tobi 4-9 2-2 10; MONROE, Brad 3-5 2-2
8; LOWDER, Gabriel 2-6 2-2 6; STEPHENSON, Martin 2-5 0-0 4; STAFFORD, Justin
2-4 0-2 4; ANDERSON, T.C. 1-4 0-0 3; EFIRD, Gene 1-3 0-0 2; TRACY, Travis
0-1 0-0 0; BELICIC, Connor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 8-12 61.
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (16-8, 8-7 ODAC)
JESSEE, Ben 5-8 4-4 18; GEORGE, Harrison 6-13 2-2 16; WHITE, Ru 6-9 0-0 13;
WARD, Randall 3-8 4-4 12; SUMNER, Jack 1-3 2-2 5; OBRADOVIC, Sasha 2-4 0-0
5; LUMPKIN, Fletcher 1-2 0-0 2; WETZEL, Keegan 1-1 0-0 2; O’NEILL, Colin 0-1
0-0 0; POTAPOV, Alex 0-1 0-0 0; WILLIAMSON, Khobi 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-51
12-12 73.
Guilford…………………. 23 38 – 61
Hampden-Sydney……………. 35 38 – 73
3-point goals–Guilford 5-13 (PITTMAN, Josh 4-9; ANDERSON, T.C. 1-2; LOWDER,
Gabriel 0-2), Hampden-Sydney 11-25 (JESSEE, Ben 4-6; WARD, Randall 2-5;
GEORGE, Harrison 2-6; WHITE, Ru 1-2; OBRADOVIC, Sasha 1-2; SUMNER, Jack 1-3;
LUMPKIN, Fletcher 0-1). Fouled out–Guilford-ANDERSON, T.C.,
Hampden-Sydney-None. Rebounds–Guilford 28 (MONROE, Brad 12), Hampden-Sydney
34 (GEORGE, Harrison 9). Assists–Guilford 8 (PITTMAN, Josh 3),
Hampden-Sydney 17 (WARD, Randall 4; GEORGE, Harrison 4). Total
fouls–Guilford 15, Hampden-Sydney 15. Technical fouls–Guilford-EFIRD,
Gene, Hampden-Sydney-WARD, Randall. A-750
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics