Hampden-Sydney Claims Tenth ODAC Crown
Strong Start Keys Victory Over Roanoke
February 25, 2007
Box Score

SALEM,Va. --- There are now two squads that have won a decade’s worth of Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and both were in action on Sunday afternoon.  Hampden-Sydney College, powered by an explosive first half, claimed the 2007 ODAC Men’s Basketball Championship title, defeating Roanoke College 77-62 for its 10^th conference crown.

HSC senior Mike Edwards was named for the tournament’s most valuable player, scoring 71 points over the course of the three games including a game-high 27 against Roanoke.  He made all five of his shots from deep and also collected two steals.

“I just came out ready to play,” said Edwards. “My teammates were behind me.  They were behind me ever since day one, and I happy that it happened for us.”

Junior Tyler Murray chipped in his second double-double of the tournament, registering 15 points and 14 rebounds.  Freshman Turner King added 13 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Jyri Laakso went for seven points and four rebounds.

Junior A.J. Dowell led the Maroons with 20 points and four assists.  He made 8-of-12 foul shots.  Sophomore Curtis Peery chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, while juniors Ben Shrader and Josh LaPorte added nine apiece.

Hampden-Sydney opened the game firing on all cylinders.  Three early Roanoke miscues, a pair of threes from Edwards and one from Medlin helped the Tigers to an early 11-3 lead.  Laakso pushed the advantage further with a put-back of his own miss for a 13-3 lead with 15:15 on the clock.  Edwards kept Roanoke on its heels with a third long-distance make lending to a Roanoke timeout.

The Tigers continued to increase its lead following the pause in play, making the score 26-4 after following two more three-pointers, one from Murray and the fourth for Edwards.  Roanoke was again forced to stop the clock and talk it over with 9:07 left in the opening frame.

Tee Jackson finally took the lid off the rim for the Maroons, give them their first field goal with a three-pointer at the 8:55 mark.  Zach Milton followed with a lay-up to cut the deficit down to 28-9, but a lay-up by Murray and another triple from Edwards pushed the Tigers lead to 24 at 33-9 with 6:53 on the clock. 

A pair of free throws and lay-in by Dowell gave the Maroon attack a bit of rhythm, but it was short-lived due to a Tiger 30-second break.  The Tigers reestablished their offense, extending their advantage back over 20 points following a couple off lay-ins and a three by Drew Prehmus.  HSC went into the half up 42-14 having shot 58.6-percent in the opening stanza.

“When the ball goes in it’s an easy game,” according to HSC head coach Bubba Smith.  “We got some early buckets and our guys were playing loose early.”

Shrader started the second frame on a better note for the Maroons, hitting a three-pointer inside of one minute gone.  He hit a second with 17:30 mark followed by a LaPorte lay-up to pull the score to 44-22. 

Peery pulled Roanoke with 19 at 47-28 after the front-end of two free tosses, and Dowell cut the deficit to 17 with a hanging jumper in the lane at the 14:13 mark.  A jumper by Peery and one by Schrader got the Maroons to within 13 points, the closest they had been since 14:19 of the first half.

Murray calmed Roanoke’s run with a lay-up with 12:11 to play, and Laakso completed a three-point play to move Hampden-Sydney back out by 18 at 52-34.

The margin hovered around 16 points for several minutes before Dowell canned a three with 8:35 to play to make the score 58-45.  LaPorte kept the difference at 13 with his first make from downtown.  An 18-footer by Peery with 4:11 pulled Roanoke within 12 at 66-54.

Edwards picked up his 22^nd point of the game with the first of two from the line, and King put back his second miss to put Hampden-Sydney back up by 15 at 69-54.  Three for from the stripe by Edwards moved the Tigers out to a 72-56 edge, but Dowell recouped those points with his second three-pointer with 2:35 to play.

A toss by Schrader and transition lay-up by Drew Gaeng pulled Roanoke to within 10 at 72-62 with 1:10 to play, but a combination of missed shots from deep and converted HSC free throws closed out the game for the Tigers.

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