Hampden-Sydney led by six at the break, 36-31, and held as much as a ten point lead, 52-42, with just under 15 minutes to play. However, Baldwin-Wallace went on a 19-7 run over the next eight minutes and took its first lead of the second half on a Keith Aufmuth three to make it 61-59 with 7:07 to play.
The Tigers took the lead back on a Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) layup with 5:59 to play, making it 62-61, but a three pointer by Baldwin-Wallace guard Tom Harrington put the Yellow Jackets back in the lead, 64-62. The Tigers worked to tie the game at 64 and 66, but a string of six straight points by Thad Davis over a 90 second stretch put the Jackets in the lead for good as the team held on for the 72-67 victory.
Davis and younger brother Tori Davis each recorded double-doubles for the Yellow Jackets as Tori dropped in 22 points and grabbed 11 boards. Aufmuth gave Baldwin-Wallace three players in double figures in scoring with 11 points.
Hampden-Sydney was led by senior guard Brian Gunn (Danville, VA/GW Danville), who notched 19 points to go with seven assists, while junior center Aaron Lewek (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road) recorded his second straight double-double with a career-high 17 points and ten rebounds.
The Jackets shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the floor, including a sizzling 59 percent (17-for-29) in the second half, while they became the first team to out-rebound Hampden-Sydney this season as they held a 43-33 rebound advantage. The Tigers shot just 35 percent (24-for-68) including 31 percent (10-for-32) in the second stanza. Hampden-Sydney turned the ball over a season-low six times, while forcing 13 Yellow Jacket turnovers.
In the tournament consolation game, Ryan Tozer and Eric Houston scored 14 and 13 points respectively to lead the Eastern College Eagles to a 60-56 victory over Hood College. Eastern held a five-point advantage at halftime, 29-24, and were up by as much as eight points in the second half, 38-30, but Hood managed to cut the lead to one on several occasions including with 1:08 to play (57-56) yet could not overcome the Eagles who held on for the 60-56 win.
Santo Provenzano scored a game-high 18 points for Hood, while David Wilson added 14 for the Blazers. Hood won the battle on the boards, 36-26, but had 25 turnovers compared to 13 for the Eagles.
Baldwin-Wallace’s Thad Davis was named tournament MVP, while teammates Tori Davis and Keith Aufmuth joined him on the all-tournament squad. Brian Gunn and Aaron Lewek represented Hampden-Sydney as all-tournament selections, while Eastern’s Eric Houston rounded out the all-tourney squad.