Hampden-Sydney looks to even series against archrivals, Randolph-Macon

Tiger basketball hopes to snap their five-game losing streak in Wednesday’s game against the yellow jackets.

In one of the final games left of their regular season, Hampden-Sydney will match up with ODAC conference rival Randolph-Macon on Wednesday, Feb. 17 on their home court. Hampden-Sydney will enter the game with a 6–8 ODAC record (14–9 overall), only one spot below Randolph-Macon who is 7–7 (11–12 overall) in the conference standings.

Each team is seeking to better that standing with only two games left in their regular seasons before entering the ODAC postseason tournament. The last time they these foes saw each other was in the Yellow Jackets home gym in Ashland, Va. The Tigers fell to the jackets in a 75–68 loss.

Hampden-Sydney’s goes into this game hoping to turn their recent luck around and break a five game losing streak. Their last outing was at Emory & Henry where they suffered a close, 65–63 loss in the last minute of the game.

On the other hand, senior point guard from Williamsburg, Va., Mike Murray, tied the Tiger’s program record of 410 assists (Bat Barber ’92) against the Wasps. He is also the conference leader for assists this season and he looks to break that school record, going into Wednesday night. Last time Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon met, Murray hit his 1,000-point career mark.

“When we played them, they obviously played really well and when we came out we wanted to make a statement. Getting that 1,000 points was kind of bittersweet because I wanted to be happy for it, but then we lost,” stated Murray.

At their last meeting, junior Jake Duncan led the way for the Tigers with 16 points, freshman Andrew Evans and junior JaVonte Reddick respectively added 14 and 10 points, while sophomore Guilherme Guimaraes put up nine.

Since then, Guimaraes has picked up some speed, hitting double digits in total points for the past three Hampden-Sydney timeouts. Evans will continue to be a key player for the Tigers’ offense, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arch and averaging 9.9 points per game. Duncan and Murray, the other two members of the starting offensive trio for Hampden-Sydney’s lineup, combine with Evans to average 32.4 points per game.

“We preach defense,” said Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Dee Vick. He wants to emphasize getting off to a defensive start in this game. He also stated, “I’ll also say that our shooters have committed a little bit more to their preparation. They’ve been in the gym extra on the shooting machine…”

The Yellow Jackets are just as hungry for a win Wednesday night after losing four out of there five past games. The last time they met Hampden-Sydney they shot 50.9 percent from the floor, above their team average. Senior Lamont Moore put up 19 points and 11 rebounds in the matchup, his third double-double of the season, so he will be the key player for the Tigers to put a hold on.

Randolph-Macon junior Michael Taylor and sophomore Mike Silverthorn both capitalized with double-digits the last time they met the Tigers, Silverthorn hitting a three-pointer to secure the Yellow Jackets lead with 1:35 left in the game.

It’s a special night for Tiger history, as the 1966 basketball team will be celebrating their 50th reunion while their oldest rivalry plays out on the court. The game will take place Wednesday at 7pm in S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium.