Sophomore guard Kevin Forrester (Wytheville, VA/George Wythe) scored all 16 of his career-high points in the second half thanks to a 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc to lead the Tiger charge, while freshman Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) and junior Matt Guill (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) each scored ten points to give the Tigers three players in double figures. Forrester also tied for the team lead with five assists, along with freshman point guard A.J. Dowell (Roanoke, VA/Salem) who also had eight points and two steals. Overall, Hampden-Sydney canned 13-of-16 from three-point range and shot a season-high 61 percent (30-for-49) from the floor.
The Tigers led by 13 at the break, 40-27, after a hot-shooting first half in which the team connected on 15-of-21 (71 percent) from the floor and made all five three-point attempts. Washington and Lee came out in the second half firing as consecutive 18-foot jumpers from John Mumper and a long-range three-pointer from Chris Halkitis cut the Tiger lead to eight, 42-34, with 17:21 to play.
Midway through the half the Tigers pushed the lead to 25 (60-35) thanks to an 11-point spurt by Forrester who drained three straight three’s and scored on a lane-slashing layup. A Colton Braud layup with 9:07 to go helped W&L cut the lead to 20 (60-40), but it was as close as the Generals would get for the rest of the game.
Freshman guard A.J. Dowell scored five of his eight points over a 60-second stretch to help push the Tiger lead to 26 (70-44), while consecutive three’s by walk on guard Ron Johnson (Fredericksburg, VA/James Monroe) in the final 90 seconds helped the Tigers to the winning margin of 31 points, 85-54.
John Mumper paced the Generals with 13 points, while freshman forward Greg Bienemann finished with ten. Sophomore guard Chris Halkitis finished the game with eight points and a team-high six rebounds to go with five assists.
The Tiger bench, led by Forrester, out-scored Washington and Lee’s, 48-12. Meanwhile, Hampden-Sydney also won the battle on the boards, 34-30, and held the Generals to 35 percent (20-for-58) shooting for the game, including 23 percent (3-for-13) from beyond the arc.
Hampden-Sydney returns to action Wednesday, January 19, as the team travels to Norfolk, VA, to take on 23rd-ranked Virginia Wesleyan at 7 pm. The contest will be broadcast live on FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.