Andrew Hart’s three pointer with 1:12 to play put the Wasps on top, 95-93, while a last second desperation shot by the Tigers’ Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) fell inches shy of tying the contest and Anthony Hairston put the game away with a pair of free throws to give Emory and Henry to its first win over the Tigers in its last five tries.
Cain Landreth scored 16 points to lead the Wasps, while Hart finished with 14 and Jarrell Christian added 11. Junior guard Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward School) scored a career high in the losing effort as he finished with 24 points, while sophomore forward Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) added 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds and Drew Prehmus finished with 16 points to give the Tigers three players in double figures.
Emory and Henry led for nearly the entire contest, holding as much as a 12 point advantage, 24-12, with 12:55 to play in the first half. The Tigers cut the lead to five, 54-49, by halftime thanks to a 6-for-6 effort from beyond the arc in the first stanza. The Tigers opened the second half on a 14-4 run to open a five point advantage, 63-58, on a driving layup by senior guard Matt Guill (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus).
The Wasps came back thanks to trifecta’s by Landreth and Christian to build a three point lead, 75-72, with just over six minutes to play. The battle then went down to the wire, as Troy Kaase’s layup with 90 seconds to play gave the Tigers a 93-92 lead before Hart drilled a baseline three in front of the Wasp bench to make it 95-93.
On the Tigers’ end, freshman guard Byron Lawton (High Point, NC/Wesleyan Academy) fired up a three pointer that hit off the rim and into the hands of Kaase, who missed the desperation stickback with 44 seconds to play. The Tigers then played solid defense, forcing a shot clock violation on the Wasps, who handed the ball back to the Tigers with 8.6 seconds remaining.
On the inbound play, Prehmus was open at the top of the key, penetrated to the free throw line and put up the shot, which bounced in-and-out and into the hands of Wasp guard Anthony Hairston, who was fouled and calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the win for E&H.
The Tigers broke out of a four-game shooting slump with a 54 percent (35-of-65) effort from the floor and 56 percent (9-for-16) effort from beyond the arc, while knocking down 14-of-20 (70%) from the charity stripe. The game was won on the boards, as Emory and Henry out-rebounded the Tigers, 49-44, including grabbing 27 offensive boards compared to 11 for Hampden-Sydney.
The Wasps shot 38 percent (37-for-97) from the floor, 26 percent (13-of-50) from three point range and sank 10-of-13 (77%) at the line.
Hampden-Sydney returns to action Wednesday, January 25, as the team travels to Greensboro, NC, to take on Guilford College at 7 pm.