Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994 TAG: 9403060208
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hampden-Sydney kept its composure and held on against the fiery Maroons to earn a 95-80 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division III men's national basketball tournament.
The Tigers ended a 22-game Roanoke winning streak in the South Region game and will travel on Friday to meet a sectional winner from the West Region.
Hampden-Sydney (21-5) had lost to the Maroons (26-2) twice during regular-season play in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, but the Tigers possessed something extra Saturday.
"What we did today much better than we did the other games is we maintained our composure," said Tony Shaver, Hampden-Sydney's coach. "We showed poise even when they got back into the game."
The Maroons trailed 38-36 at halftime and were stunned when the Tigers opened the second half by scoring seven straight points. Roanoke made just two field goals in the opening eight minutes of the half.
Meanwhile, the Tigers were hitting everything in sight. Hampden-Sydney shot 59 percent in the second half, compared to 37 percent by the Maroons, and led by 14 points.
Roanoke scratched its way back to four points down, 72-68, with 5 minutes and 18 seconds to play. Then Dee Vick made a jumper from the top of the key and Todd Kerr converted on a three-point play to stretch the Tigers' lead back to nine points.
Hilliary Scott made a driving layup with 2:24 left to give Roanoke another chance, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to put away the game.
Hampden-Sydney beat Oglethorpe in Atlanta in the tournament's first round on Thursday.
The Maroons spent the week practicing after earning a bye. Scott, a senior and the ODAC's player of the year, said the time off was a curse instead of a blessing.
"We definitely weren't looking past Hampden-Sydney," Scott said. "But [the week off] definitely played a part. You could tell on offense we weren't quite in sync like we were last week."
Roanoke coach Page Moir said the team had no excuses.
"Both teams played aggressive offense and defense. . . . We stopped moving the ball around in the second half, and that was the key for them," Moir said. "They played better than we played poorly."
Point guard Dustin Fonder jump-started the Maroons, scoring seven of their opening 15 points. The senior finished with 15 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
"We came out fired up, but we weren't holding on to the ball in the first half like we needed to," Fonder said. "They seemed a little more scrappy, and we weren't executing."
Ryan Odom came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points for Hampden-Sydney. The sophomore guard was 9-of-10 on free throws and made four of seven 3-point attempts. Kerr added 20 points eight assists and four steals for the Tigers, and Jason Leonard had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with 18 points.
"We got a second chance against them, and you very rarely get second chances," said Leonard, a junior center. "We knew if we lost to them we were done for the season."
Six seniors ended their Roanoke careers, including Scott, who had a team-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Mike Thornton added 15 points, and junior Bryant Lee had nine points and nine rebounds.
by CNB