For immediate release – 1/21/2015 - #227
Tigers Escape with 63-61 win over Lynchburg Men's Basketball

LYNCHBURG, VA – Jake Duncan drilled a three-pointer in the closing seconds to lift the visiting Hampden-Sydney College men's basketball team to a 63-61 win over Lynchburg College in a tough Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) battle Wednesday evening from Turner Gym.

LC led 20-11 at the 6:26 mark of the first half, but the Tiger defense didn't allow a Hornet point over the next six minutes. H-SC took a 27-22 edge into the intermission.

Hampden-Sydney extended the lead to 15 points (50-35) midway through the second stanza before the Hornets battled back. Two three pointers from senior Rionn Pradia and two baskets from junior Alex Graves cut the lead to just seven.

H-SC held a 58-53 edge with 2:43 on the game clock before back-to-back three-point plays from sophomore Zack Burnett (one traditional, one from beyond the three-point arc) gave LC its first lead since the first half at 59-58.  Greg Lewis made a pair of free throws to give H-SC the lead back 60-59 with 44 ticks remaining. LC's Omar Kemp finished a layup in traffic with 29 seconds remaining for another lead change, but Duncan drilled his three-pointer from the corner. Following a timeout, LC had the ball out of bounds near midcourt with 2.9 seconds on the clock, but a Tiger deflected the inbounds pass deep into the Hornet end and a long desperation shot fell short.

Burnett finished with a game-high 23 points, hitting 5-of-9 three pointers. Lyndon White posted 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Kemp posted 11 points and seven rebounds. Graves had six points and seven rebounds before fouling out. LC shot just 7-of-14 from the free-throw line, while the Tigers converted on 18-of-24 (75%).

Duncan was the sole Hampden-Sydney (11-5/4-3 ODAC) player in double figures with 16, followed by Mike Murray with nine.  

The Hornets (10-6/3-4 ODAC) travel to Virginia Wesleyan College Saturday for an ODAC game at 2 p.m.

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