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Junior Ayman McGowan scored 14, while senior Adam Brazil added 12, to lead the Hampden-Sydney (H-SC)Tigers to a 74-48 win over Greensboro College (GC) on Sunday. Playing in front of a home crowd at Kirby Field House, the undefeated Tigers led the entire contest, by as many as 33 points in the second half. 

“I thought we did a good job tonight of executing our focus defensively and sharing the ball on offense,” said Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough. “The fact that we could have a different player step up for us on any given game gives our team an edge that we will continue to build on. We will take a look at the film and continue to improve as we head into next week’s practice.”

Hampden-Sydney scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back against GC, getting seven quick points from team captain Brazil. The Tigers extended their advantage to 17-4 at 11:39 as McGowan started a 9-2 run with his first three-pointer, while fifth-year Chase Turner, senior Alex Elliott and Wright each scored, as well. The Garnet and Grey extended the margin to 20 points at 30-10 with 6:48 on the first-half clock following a jumper in the lane by senior team captain Josiah Hardy. Brazil and Elliott each scored five points during the outburst, including a conventional three-point play by Brazil and a three-pointer by Elliott. McGowan’s three-pointer at 3:41 pushed the lead to 35-14, the largest of the half, as the home team led 39-22 at the intermission.

GREENSBORO GOES ON A RUN

GC managed to close to within 41-27 early in the second half at 18:14, but H-SC quickly responded with a 14-2 run to lead 55-29 with 12:43 remaining. Fifth-year player Ryan Clements started the run with an offensive rebound basket, then made a steal at the other end and fed the ball to senior Davidson Hubbard for a massive slam dunk on the break much to the delight of the student section under the basket at that end of the floor. Wright and fifth-year team captain Miles Harris finished the run with back-to-back three-pointers. The Tigers led by 30 points at 66-35 with 9:16 left after an old-fashioned three-point play by sophomore Shane Fernald, and took their biggest lead of the contest at 74-41 with 4:28 on the clock following McGowan’s fourth triple-Coach Kimbrough playing his bench over the final six-plus minutes.

McGowan led H-SC with his game-high 14 points off the bench, including 4-9 three-pointers. Brazil finished with his 12 points, all scored in the first half for the Tigers, adding three rebounds and three assists. Wright contributed his eight points off the bench, adding three assists, as well. Elliott, Hardy, Hubbard and Fernald each had seven points, with Hubbard adding five rebounds and Fernald adding four rebounds. H-SC shot 46% (26-56) from the field, including 33% (9-27) on three-pointers, and 77% (13-17) at the free throw line. The Tigers enjoyed a 30-14 advantage in points scored in the paint, and a 36-23 advantage in bench scoring. With the win, Hampden-Sydney avenged an 82-77 road setback on the road at Greensboro College last November.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TIGERS? 

H-SC will go on the road for the first time this season to participate in the Al Van Wie/Rotary Tip-Off Tournament hosted by the College of Wooster on Nov. 17-18 in Wooster, Ohio. The Tigers will play Widener (PA) on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. and either host Wooster or Rose-Hulman (IN) on Saturday, Nov. 18, at either 2:15 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.