College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 74, Hampden-Sydney 72

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) and Trever Hyatt (Cpnnelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) scored 18 points apiece in Guilford College’s thrilling 74-72 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win over visiting Hampden-Sydney College Wednesday night.

The Tigers (10-6, 4-3 ODAC) nearly tied the game at the buzzer, but Leon Hargrove’s (Raleigh, N.C./Middle Creek) layup rimmed out as time expired. Hampden-Sydney’s Khobi Williamson (Norfolk, Va./Maury) tipped the ball in, but after the final buzzer and Guilford (12-4, 6-1 ODAC) improved to 5-0 in games determined by three or fewer points. The Tigers’ setback marked their fifth by six or fewer points this year.

Hyatt scored all 10 of his second-half points during a 15-2 Guilford run that turned a 51-45 Hampden-Sydney lead into a 60-53 Quakers’ edge with 8:53 remaining. Hyatt buried two three-pointers and made four of his career-high seven free throws during the spurt. His trifecta with 11:35 left gave Guilford its first lead since the first half, 52-51.

The Tigers battled back and regained a 70-69 lead on Keegan Wetzel’s (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) three-pointer with 3:29 left in regulation. The basket marked Hampden-Sydney’s last field goal of the game as Guilford scored five of the game’s final seven points. Zeb Richardson’s (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) layup off a Zachary Houston feed with 1:50 remaining marked the go-ahead score. The contest featured 10 lead changes and four ties.
Hampden-Sydney entered the game as the ODAC leader in rebound margin, grabbing nearly 11 more boards per game than opponents. Both teams had 20 caroms at halftime. In the second half, Guilford owned a 20-10 advantage, which included 13 offensive rebounds that led to 18 Quakers’ points. The Tigers had four offensive boards in the second half, but no second-chance points. For the game, Guilford had a 23-10 advantage in second-chance points.

Guilford freshman Josh Spainhour (King, N.C./West Stokes) made four of five three-pointers and finished with 14 points, his first 10-point game since a career-high 20-point effort versus Averett University Nov. 20. Matt McCarthy drained three three-pointers and added 11 points. Richardson totaled five points, a team-high 11 rebounds and two blocks.

Hampden-Sydney’s Williamson tallied 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Mike Murray (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Christian) added nine points, all in the second half, plus a game-best 12 assists. Sasha Obradovic and Wetzel scored nine points apiece. Kodie Critzer finished with eight points and made two of the Tigers’ 10 three-pointers.

Guilford visits league-rival Eastern Mennonite University Saturday (1/25) at 4:00 p.m.

Hampden-Sydney vs Guilford
01/22/14 7:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House

GUILFORD – 74
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY – 72

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (10-6, 4-3 ODAC): WILLIAMSON, Khobi 6-10 0-3 12; MURRAY, Mike 3-10 2-2 9; OBRADOVIC, Sasha 4-9 0-0 9; WETZEL, Keegan 4-4 0-0 9; CRITZER, Kodie 2-5 2-2 8; LEWIS, Greg 3-8 0-0 7; OWENS, Mitch 2-6 0-0 6; REDDICK, JaVonte 2-4 0-0 5; HARGROVE, Leon 1-2 0-0 3; VASSOR, Stephen 0-0 2-2 2; LUMPKIN, Fletcher 1-1 0-0 2; SMITH, Alex 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 6-9 72.

GUILFORD (12-4, 6-1 ODAC): HOPKINS, Jake 7-9 4-4 18; HYATT, Trever 4-10 7-7 18; SPAINHOUR, Josh 5-6 0-0 14; McCARTHY, Matt 4-14 0-0 11; RICHARDSON, Zeb 2-9 1-2 5; KOPPENHAVER, Will 2-3 0-1 4; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-2 0-0 2; FURR, Alston 1-7 0-0 2; STOKELY, Robbie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 12-14 74.

   Hampden-Sydney................   37   35  -   72
   Guilford......................   33   41  -   74

3-point goals–Hampden-Sydney 10-28 (CRITZER, Kodie 2-4; OWENS, Mitch 2-5; OBRADOVIC, Sasha 1-5; HARGROVE, Leon 1-1; REDDICK, JaVonte 1-3; MURRAY, Mike 1-6; WETZEL, Keegan 1-1; LEWIS, Greg 1-3), Guilford 10-24 (SPAINHOUR, Josh 4-5; HYATT, Trever 3-6; McCARTHY, Matt 3-9; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1; FURR, Alston 0-3).
Fouled out–Hampden-Sydney-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Hampden-Sydney 30 (WILLIAMSON, Khobi 14), Guilford 40 (RICHARDSON, Zeb 11).
Assists–Hampden-Sydney 20 (MURRAY, Mike 12), Guilford 18 (FURR, Alston 4; HOPKINS, Jake 4).
Total fouls–Hampden-Sydney 16, Guilford 13.
Technical fouls–Hampden-Sydney-None, Guilford-None.
A-475

Old Dominion Athletic Conference game