Sophomore’s Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) and Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) scored 19 and 17 points respectively as all 14 members of the Tiger team scored a bucket for the second time in three games. Meanwhile, junior guard Matt Green (Richmond, VA/Thomas Dale) added ten points, while freshman forward Jyri Laakso (Oulu, Finland/Makelanrinne) scored nine and pulled down a game-high seven boards for the victors.
Matt Sweeney scored 15 points to lead the Hornets, while Andy Albright added ten to go with one steal as Albright became the ODAC’s all-time leader in career steals, breaking former Hampden-Sydney great Ralph Baker’s all-time record of 258.
The two teams traded baskets over the first five minutes of action before the Tigers went on a 21-7 run over an eight minute stretch to pull out to a 15 point advantage, 32-17, with 7:05 to play. Kaase and Prehmus fueled the run as Kaase as each scored 12 points in the run. The Hornets cut the lead to nine at the halftime break thanks to four points each by Pete Vasilou and Kwame Safo over the final 4:55 of action.
In the second half, Matt Green opened the Tiger lead to 12 with his second trifecta of the game, but the Hornets quickly made a game of it once-again slicing the Tiger lead to five, 45-40, on a Reed Fairchild jumper at the 17:14 mark. From that point on it was all Hampden-Sydney however as Aaron Lewek’s (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road) layup and a Drew Prehmus fast break lay-in opened a Tiger run that was sealed with a steal and layup by freshman guard Byron Lawton (High Point, NC/Wesleyan) at the midway point of the half to give the Tigers a 24 point advantage, 71-47.
The Tiger reserves then put the game away as Jeremy Szuch (Salem, VA/Glenvar), Cale Phillips (Raleigh, NC/Cardinal Gibbons), Nelson Gregory (Meherrin, VA/Prince Edward) and Fitz Robertson (Queens, NY/South Kent) all got into the scoring act over the final 3:47 of play to give the Tigers their four win in their last five games.
With the win the Tigers will face sixth-seeded Roanoke College at 8 pm, Saturday, February 18, in the opening round of action in the 2006 ODAC Tournament at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA. The game will be broadcast live on FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.