Roanoke nailed 12-of-19 from beyond the arc, including 5-of-9 in the first half as the Maroons built a 13-point halftime advantage, 40-27. The Tigers came out firing in the second half, led by freshman guard Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) who scored eight of his game-high 27 points in helping the Tigers in their a 16-3 run that tied the game with 17:03 to play.
Roanoke built the lead back to six, 53-47, after a pair of baskets by senior forward Kevinn Hunter, but the Tigers sliced the lead back to two on buckets by Prehmus and sophomore center Davis Bowne (Hickory, NC/St. Stephens). It would be as close as the Tigers got however as the Maroons pushed the lead to as much as 13 (72-59) after Maroon junior guard Jared Butler scored 12 straight points over a 90 second stretch midway through the half.
A three pointer by Prehmus and a pair of layups by sophomore guard Kevin Forrester (Wytheville, VA/George Wythe) kept the final margin in single digits as the Tigers fell to Roanoke for the first time in ten games, dating back to the 2001 season.
Prehmus led all scorers with 27 points, thanks to a 10-for-13 shooting effort from the floor and a 4-for-6 effort from beyond the arc. Freshman guard A.J. Dowell (Roanoke, VA/Salem) finished with 11 to give the Tigers two players in double figures in scoring, while sophomore Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward) scored nine points to go with a career-high seven assists and freshman Tyler Murray (Atlanta, GA/Harrison) scored a career-high eight points.
Jared Butler finished with 22 points to lead six Maroons in double-figures in scoring. Robbie Winfield, who entered the game averaging just 3.2 points-per-game, finished with 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting from three point range, while freshman forward Josh LaPorte added 11 and Kevinn Hunter, Tee Jackson and Keith Carter each scored ten.
The Maroons finished the contest shooting 58 percent (29-for-50) from the floor, 63 percent (12-for-19) from beyond the arc and 54 percent (14-for-26) from the line, while out-rebounding the Tigers, 33-27. Hampden-Sydney meanwhile, shot 47 percent (27-for-58) from the floor, 29 percent (4-for-14) from three point range and 81 percent (17-for-21) at the line.
The Tigers return to action with their final road contest of the season Wednesday, February 9, as they travel to Greensboro, NC, to take on Guilford College at 7 pm.