All five players in the Tiger starting lineup scored at least ten points, including sophomore forward Troy Kaase (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) who tallied 21 points. Meanwhile, junior guard Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward) scored 16, while junior guard Matt Green (Richmond, VA/Thomas Dale) scored 14 points to go with a career-high seven rebounds and game-high six assists. Sophomores Tyler Murray (Atlanta, GA/Harrison) and Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) each finished with ten points as the Tigers shot 51 percent (27-for-53) from the floor and 59 percent (10-for-17) from beyond the arc in the win.
Guilford College made its first 13 free throws in-a-row on the night and finished the game shooting 84 percent at the line as the Quakers canned 16-of-19 overall. Sophomore center Ben Strong scored a game-high 23 points and ripped down 12 boards, while Jordan Snipes added 22 and L.T. Lockett ten as GC shot 38 percent (25-for-66) from the floor and 35 percent (7-for-20) from three point range, while out-rebounding the Tigers, 42-37.
Hampden-Sydney led by four, 29-25, at halftime thanks to a Kaase buzzer-beating layup. The Tigers then advanced the lead to as much as 15 (61-46) with 7:50 to play as Prehmus scored all ten of his points over a four minute stretch that culminated in the Tigers biggest advantage. The Quakers rallied with a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to cut the Tiger lead to three points, 66-63, on a pair of Lockett free throws.
The Quakers could draw no closer as Matt Green connected on his third trifecta of the game with the shot clock winding down on the Tigers next possession to push the H-SC lead back to six, 69-63, while free throws by Green, Edwards and senior guard Matt Guill (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) sealed the contest for Hampden-Sydney.
The Tigers return to action Saturday night at 7 pm as the team travels to Harrisonburg, VA, to take on Eastern Mennonite University. The game will be broadcast live on FM 95.7 WFLO and on the internet at www.hsc.edu/athletics.