College Men’s Basketball Final – Hampden-Sydney 73, Guilford 71

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Andrew Evans scored nine of his game-high 16 points in the second half of Hampden-Sydney College’s 73-71 win over visiting Guilford College Wednesday night. Evans’ go-ahead three-point play with 41 seconds left helped the Tigers (14-4, 6-3 ODAC) overcome a five-point deficit with 2:22 left in the game and collect their fifth Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) win in six tries.

Evans’ play marked the game’s 12th tie and 12th lead change. The Quakers (10-7, 5-3 ODAC) had two three-point shots on the ensuing possession, but both missed the mark. Guilford sent rebounder Josh Katowitz to the free-throw line where he made two shots that opened 73-70 Tigers’ lead with 14 seconds remaining.

The teams combined for three timeouts over the next 12 seconds before the Quakers’ Justen Best was fouled while shooting a three-pointer. With two ticks left in regulation, he made the first shot, but missed the next one. After a Quakers’ timeout, he intentionally missed the third shot, and the rebound went out of bounds last touched by Guilford.

Evans made six-of-11 field goals, including three three-pointers, to lead three Tigers in double-figure scoring. JaVonte Reddick drained all four of his three-pointers in the first half and finished with 12 points. Teammate Mitch Owens stroked two trifectas and added 11 points, plus six rebounds. Hampden-Sydney shot nearly 52 percent from the floor against one of the ODAC’s leading defenses and made 13 three-pointers.

Guilford rookie Carson Long (Pilot Mountain, N.C./East Surry) shared game-high scoring honors with a personal-best 16 points, including four three-pointers. Quakers’ forwards Will Freeman (13 points) and Alston Thompson (10 points) combined for 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Zachary Houston (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s) tallied a career-best 11 points, nine in the first half. He also contributed six rebounds, five assists and two steals, all game highs.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers host league-rival Washington and Lee University Saturday (1/30) at 2:00 p.m. The team’s annual alumni game commences Alumni Day activities at 11:00 a.m. in the Ragan-Brown Field House.

Guilford vs Hampden-Sydney
01/27/16 7:00 p.m. at Hamoden-Sydney, VA – Fleet Gymnasium

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 73
GUILFORD 71

GUILFORD (10-7, 5-3 ODAC): LONG, Carson 6-9 0-0 16; FREEMAN, Will 6-9 1-1 13; HOUSTON, Zachary 5-8 0-0
11; THOMPSON, Alston 3-5 4-5 10; HENDERSON, Dominique 3-5 0-0 8; ROGERS, Jarrod 2-6 0-0 4; BEST, Justen 1-8 1-3 4; HYATT, Trever 1-8 0-0 3; BRYANT, John 1-2 0-0 2; METZ, AJ 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 6-9 71.

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (14-4, 6-3 ODAC): EVANS, Andrew 6-11 1-2 16; REDDICK, JaVonte 4-9 0-0 12; OWENS, Mitch 4-5 1-2 11; CHEERS, Gray 3-6 0-0 8; MURRAY, Mike 2-5 2-2 8; DUNCAN, Jake 3-8 0-0 6; KATOWITZ, Josh 2-2 2-2 6; GUIMARAES, Guilherme 2-3 0-0 4; CHASE, Nick 1-2 0-0 2; HATFIELD, Austin 0-1 0-0 0; REID, Justin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 6-8 73.

Guilford......................   33   38  -   71
Hampden-Sydney................   39   34  -   73

3-point goals–Guilford 9-26 (LONG, Carson 4-5; HENDERSON, Dominique 2-4; HYATT, Trever 1-7; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-3; BEST, Justen 1-6; ROGERS, Jarrod 0-1), Hampden-Sydney 13-29 (REDDICK, JaVonte 4-8; EVANS, Andrew 3-5; MURRAY, Mike 2-4; CHEERS, Gray 2-4; OWENS, Mitch 2-2; HATFIELD, Austin 0-1; DUNCAN, Jake 0-5).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Hampden-Sydney-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 27 (HOUSTON, Zachary 6), Hampden-Sydney 29 (KATOWITZ, Josh 5; GUIMARAES, Guilherme 5; OWENS, Mitch 5).
Assists–Guilford 14 (HOUSTON, Zachary 5), Hampden-Sydney 17 (MURRAY, Mike 4).
Total fouls–Guilford 16, Hampden-Sydney 13.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Hampden-Sydney-None.
A-878
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game