ODAC Conference Tournament 1st Round Recap
Hampden-Sydney def. Randolph-Macon - 75-59
Big 3 forwards power Tigers to quarterfinals
Hampden-Sydney rode its power forwards to victory in round 1 as John Dobbs lead all scorers with 22 points and added 11 rebounds. He was aided by fellow low post players Robert Harris, 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Carls, 11 points and 8 rebounds, but it was the point guard who got this team going late in the first half.
In the early going, Dobbs provided all of the offense for the Tigers, but they found themselves down 13-7. Harris then took over the offensive reins scoring all 6 of the Tiger points over the next stretch, but again the Tigers found themselves down 21-13. Finally, little Roger Coleman got into the act scoring 8 of the next 10 Tiger points pulling them even late in the half. Coleman finished with 12 points. The second half saw the Tiger defensive smother the Yellow Jackets and they pulled away behind the big 3 for an easy win. The Tigers dominated the boards 46-24 and held the Yellow Jackets to 36.2% from the field. Sophomore Cory Szczepanski came off the bench to lead Randolph-Macon with 13 points.
Bethany def. Bridgewater - 61-60
Bison survive Eagle scare; FTs prove the difference
Bethany played good defense and hit timely free throws down the stretch to knock off upstart #6 seed Bridgewater 61-60, but the story was missed opportunities by the Eagles from the line. Bridgewater only managed 19-35 for 54.3% from the charity stripe including missing back to back front ends of a one and one in the second half. Nolan Robbins lead the Bison with 17 points and got help from Sean Murphy with 16 points and Michael Moroney with 10 points.
The Eagles got off to a blistering start leading by 11 points early in the game, but Bethany whittled the deficit down to one multiple times including the end of the first half. The Bison quickly took the lead at the start of the second half and would never relinquish it in holding Bridgewater to just 35.2 FG%. Despite their bad day shooting, the Eagles found themselves in the game late. With 1:30 to go, Leroy Newton put Bridgewater on his back scoring 8 of his 11 points down the stretch to cut the lead to 3 with 5 seconds , but a Moroney foul of James Ames with no time kept the Eagles from getting a potential game-tying shot off and sealed it for the Bison.
Eastern Mennonite def. Roanoke - 80-48
Royals dominate Maroons despite foul shooting
Eastern Mennonite leaned heavily on its quad-centers to trounce Roanoke and advance to the quarterfinals. Joe Hubbard lead all scorers with 16 points, Harold Williams added 13 points, Ted Clarke contributed 11 points, and Porter Williams lead the team with 12 rebounds and added 6 points for the Royals. The score could have been much worse as Mennonite struggled to finish 47.2% from the line. They dominated pretty much all aspects of the game holding a 58-28 rebounds edge, including 26 offensive boards which lead to 23 more shots than the Maroons.
Roanoke kept it close for about 7 minutes before Mennonite began to steadily pull away. The Maroons struggled from the field and missed all 16 of their 3-point attempts. James Tuten and Daniel Andersen lead Roanoke with 10 points apiece.
Washington & Jefferson def. Emory & Henry - 95-90
Presidents win highly anticipated rematch
Washington & Jefferson used a balanced attack and solid rebounding to hold off Emory & Henry. Robert Franklin and Wayne Choate lead the Presidents with 18 points each and 11 and 14 rebounds respectively. Carl Lamb added 16 points and 9 rebounds and Gino Kanode also scored 16. Ernest Blythe rounded out the starting five with 13 points as the Presidents' starters all managed double figures. They dominated the boards to the tune of 55 to 34 and overcame 23 turnovers in the win. Alden Crose lead Emory & Henry with a game high 29 points despite being frequently double teamed. Steven Brubaker added 17, but suffered through 2nd half foul trouble. Mark Cheek and Albert Ayotte added 16 apiece.
In a fast paced game, the first half was mostly back and forth with W&J seeming to control the game holding a small edge until E&H went on a 9-0 run late in the half to take a 4 point lead and held it into the break at 48-46. The Wasps jumped out on the Presidents in the second half to a quick 6-0 run to lead by 8, but foul trouble began to wear on Emory & Henry as starters Brubaker and Alvin Bueche picked up their 4th fouls within the first 4 minutes of the second half while the Wasps were leading by 7. Both teams struggled for a long stretch until Franklin got W&J going by scoring 6 of the next 8 points to tie the game at the 10 minute mark. The Presidents continued the run going 7-1 over the next stretch to re-establish control. The Wasps put on one last charge to tie it on 2 Ayotte free throws, but the Presidents answered with an 11-3 run over the next one and a half minutes and then held on for the win.