Edwards scored 19 points thanks to a 7-for-13 shooting effort from the floor and a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc as he led a quartet of Tigers in double figures in scoring. Senior point guard Brian Gunn (Danville, VA/GW Danville) scored 14 points to go with six boards and five assists, while freshmen forwards Mladen Cvijanovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Miller School) and Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) added 13 and 11 respectively.
Each team led by as much as six points in the first half, with Ferrum holding a 31-25 advantage on a Kenny Johnson jumper with 4:50 to play in the stanza, and the Tigers holding a 40-34 lead with just nine seconds to play after a Mike Edwards three capped a 15-3 Tiger run. However, the Panthers were able to cut the lead to four (40-36) just before halftime on a Rob Fuller layup.
Ferrum opened the second half on a 17-7 run to open its largest lead of the game, 55-47, thanks to a Jeremy Yancey layup with just under 13 minutes to play in the game. The Tigers rallied behind layups by freshmen Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan School) and Kaase, along with a three by Edwards to shave the Ferrum lead to one, 55-54, with 9:32 to play.
The two teams battled back-and-forth over the next five minutes before the Tigers finally took the lead for good on a layup by Kaase which made the score, 62-60, while an Edwards three and layup and four made free throws by Gunn helped the Tigers wrap up the contest over the final four minutes of action.
Kenny Johnson led the Panthers with a game-high 20 points, while Rob Fuller added 13 and Rafael Holland ten to give Ferrum three players in double-figures in scoring. The Panthers shot 42 percent (27-64) from the floor, 27 percent (4-15) from beyond the arc and 77 percent (10-13) from the line, while committing 13 turnovers.
The Tigers won the battle on the boards, thanks to a game and career-high 12 boards from junior center Aaron Lewek (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road), as the team out-rebounded the Panthers, 41-32. Meanwhile, the Tigers shot a season-high 48 percent (28-58) from the floor to go with a 21 percent (4-19) performance from three-point range and a 65 percent (15-23) average from the line.
Hampden-Sydney returns to action Monday, November 29, as the Tigers host Division-I affiliate Longwood University at 7 pm in Fleet Gymnasium. The game will be broadcast live on FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.