Lynchburg led the entire game, pushing its lead to as much as nine points (46-37) with 10:30 to play in the contest, before a three pointer by Tiger freshman Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan School) gave Hampden-Sydney a 52-51 lead with 4:40 remaining. A layup by Ryan Pehanick on the other end briefly put the Hornets back in the lead, 53-52, but a Tyler Murray (Atlanta, GA/Harrison) layup and free throw put the Tigers back up by two, 55-53.
The Tigers never trailed from that point, holding Lynchburg to just two points on a Matt Sweeney layup over the final 3:58, while the team made seven straight free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.
Kevin Forrester (Wytheville, VA/George Wythe) scored 13 points, thanks in part to three trifecta’s, while Prehmus added 12 points to go with a career-high six assists. Freshman forward Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) finished with ten points off the bench as the Tigers improved to 7-0 on the season when he scores ten or more points.
Ryan Pehanick paced the Hornets with 18 points, while Matt Sweeney added ten and Patrick Prior nine. Hampden-Sydney shot 40.7 percent (24-for-59) from the floor, 40 percent (6-for-15) from three point range and 76.5 percent (13-for-17) from the line. The Hornets shot 34 percent (17-for-50) from the floor, 25 percent (3-for-12) from beyond the arc and 85.7 percent (18-for-21) from the line.
Hampden-Sydney out-rebounded the Hornets, 37-34, but committed three more turnovers, 17-14.
The Tigers return to action Saturday, February 19, in the first round of action at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament in Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA, as they face fifth-seeded Roanoke College at 3 pm. Ticket books for the ODAC Tournament are $15 and will remain on sale in the Hampden-Sydney Athletics Department until 12 noon Friday, February 18.