Swindell's hoop halted an 11-2 Tigers' run that erased a nine-point deficit with 5:13 remaining. Hampden-Sydney preseason All-America Jeff Monroe's (Raleigh, NC/Broughton) shot with 18 seconds left missed the mark. Guilford's Clarence Martin (Reidsville, NC/Reidsville) drew the rebound and a foul, which sent him to the free-throw line where he sank two free throws for a 72-68 Guilford lead.
Hampden-Sydney's Brian Gunn (Danville, VA/George Washington) missed a runner in the lane with eight seconds left. Swindell grabbed the miss, was fouled, but missed two free throws. The Tigers' Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward School) buried a three-pointer with four seconds remaining to pull the Tigers to within 72-71.
Following the Tigers' final timeout, Guilford's Josh Connor (Greensboro, NC/Northwest Guilford) inbounded the ball with a length of the court pass to teammate Eric Williams (Greenville, SC/Southside). Williams was fouled and converted two free throws with a second left to provide the final margin. The game ended with a failed halfcourt shot by Monroe as time expired.
"We did a great job defensively," said first-year head coach Tom Palombo. "Even though they shot 47 percent from the floor, they earned most of them. We wanted to get out on their perimeter guys and were able to force a lot of steals, which led to a few transition baskets."
"I thought Josh Connor did a tremendous job on Jeff Monroe to hold him to two points and only five shots," Palombo said. "[Monroe's] an All-America type player and Josh's defense was key."
Monroe entered the game ranked third among ODAC scoring leaders (17.8 ppg.). He scored his lone basket midway through the first half and missed all three second-half shots.
Williams paced Guilford with a career-high 20 points off the bench on eight-of-12 shooting from the floor. He added four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in what Palombo called his finest floor game of the year. Sophomore Genaro Lawhorn (Greensboro, NC/Oak Ridge Military Academy) chipped in 13 points and a team-high seven boards off the bench. Martin finished with 12 points, a game-high six assists and had five of Guilford's 10 steals.
Hampden-Sydney's David Willson (Memphis, TN/MUS/Southern Methodist) shared game-high scoring honors with Williams with 20 points. Jason Holman (Amelia, VA/Amelia County) netted 13 of his 19 points in the second half and had a game-high eight boards. The Tigers made 12 of 22 three-pointers in Monday's comeback overtime win at Bridgewater, but shot just three of 12 from beyond the arc tonight.
The victory marked Guilford's second triumph over a nationally ranked foe this year. The Quakers upset 18th-ranked Catholic November 21 in both team's season opener.
Hampden-Sydney beat Guilford 105-63 December 6 in the teams' first meeting this year.
Hampden-Sydney vs Guilford 02/04/04 7:00 pm at Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House At Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House GUILFORD 74, HAMPDEN-SYDNEY 71 HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (17-3, 10-3 ODAC) WILLSON, David 9-13 2-2 20; HOLMAN, Jason 7-10 5-6 19; GUNN, Brian 4-10 1-1 10; THOMPSON, Mike 3-7 1-3 7; RANDALL, Brandon 2-11 0-0 5; EDWARDS, Mike 2-4 0-0 5; FORRESTER, Kevin 1-1 0-0 2; MONROE, Jeff 1-5 0-0 2; GUILL, Matt 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 29-62 10-14 71. GUILFORD (12-8, 8-5 ODAC) WILLIAMS, Eric 8-12 2-2 20; LAWHORN, Genaro 5-9 3-4 13; MARTIN, Clarence 4-13 2-3 12; SWINDELL, Thomas 3-11 2-5 8; BRADFORD, Ron 2-4 0-0 6; CLARKE, Jevon 2-6 1-2 6; CLYBURN, Devon 2-5 0-0 5; SPENCE, Robert 1-3 1-2 4; CONNOR, Josh 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 11-18 74. Hampden-Sydney................ 33 38 - 71 Guilford...................... 38 36 - 74 3-point goals-Hampden-Sydney 3-12 (RANDALL, Brandon 1-5; EDWARDS, Mike 1-1; GUNN, Brian 1-5; MONROE, Jeff 0-1), Guilford 9-20 (MARTIN, Clarence 2-5; WILLIAMS, Eric 2-4; BRADFORD, Ron 2-4; SPENCE, Robert 1-3; CLARKE, Jevon 1-2; CLYBURN, Devon 1-2). Fouled out--Hampden-Sydney-WILLSON, David, Guilford-None. Rebounds-Hampden-Sydney 39 (HOLMAN, Jason 8), Guilford 39 (LAWHORN, Genaro 7; SWINDELL, Thomas 7). Assists-Hampden-Sydney 16 (RANDALL, Brandon 5), Guilford 19 (MARTIN, Clarence 6). Total fouls-Hampden-Sydney 18, Guilford 15. A-425 Hampden-Sydney is ranked 8th in this week's D3hoops.com Division III national poll. The win ends Hampden-Sydney's 20-game winning streak over Guilford.