It was a record night for Hampden-Sydney’s Ayman McGowan Saturday, as the senior guard scored a career-high 31 points. He also set a school record with nine three-pointers, as the No. 8 Tigers ran over Eastern Mennonite University 95-78 in the regular season finale. 

Playing in front of the home crowd at Kirby Field House, the Tigers led 44-40 at halftime before the Garnet & Grey outscored their visitors 51-38 in the second half. H-SC improved to 21-4 overall, finishing 14-2 in the ODAC, and earning the #2 seed for the upcoming ODAC Tournament.

“What a special day honoring our four seniors while closing out the regular season strong,” said Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Caleb Kimbrough. “AB, Nick, Ayman and Payton have worked extremely hard to develop an expectation in this program of being the standard of excellence in Division III basketball. Their impact on H-SC and this program will last forever.”

It was a senior showcase on the night. McGowan’s record nine three-pointers surpassed the previous record of eight, accomplished three times previously, including by TJ Grimes (2000), Jay Patrick (2001) and Greg Lewis (2013). In addition to McGowan’s career high, his fellow senior guard Nick Shryock had nine points, six rebounds and three assists; while Adam Brazil had 11 points and a game-high six assists. 

Ayman McGowan and the season finale

Hampden-Sydney, ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) as well as the D3hoops.com Top 25, took an early 9-4 lead behind five quick points from Ayman McGowan, including his first three-pointer at 16:52 for the five-point margin. EMU, however, had other ideas and put together a 19-8 run to lead 23-17 with 10:12 on the first-half clock-getting seven quick points from Lewis, including a three-pointer. The Tigers responded with a 16-3 outburst lead to go ahead 33-26 at the 5:00 mark, the last nine points coming on a three-pointer by Brazil and two more triples from McGowan. The Garnet & Grey still led 42-35 after a layup by Brazil with 1:32 left in the half, but the Royals closed to within 44-40 at the intermission.

H-SC began the second half with a three-pointer by Shryock, but EMU answered with a three-pointer of its own, keeping the margin at four (47-43). The Tigers then used the 17-4 run to take control, leading 64-47 with 12:58 remaining. Fernald sparked it with six points down low, Brazil added four points, McGowan connected on another three-pointer and both Shryock and Peter Moye added layups. The Royals did manage to get to 74-63 at 6:58, but Moye scored seven unanswered points himself to push the margin to 81-63 with 4:28 left to play. The Garnet & Grey took their largest lead at 92-71 after McGowan’s eighth three-pointer at 1:40, and Ayman connected on his record ninth triple with 38-seconds remaining toward the final margin.

Shooting the lights out 

Hampden-Sydney shot 53% (37-70) from the field, including 36% (11-31) on three-pointers, and 63% (10-16) at the free throw line. The Garnet & Grey enjoyed a 46-28 advantage in points scored in the paint, and a 23-12 advantage in second chance points, out-rebounding their visitors 43-28, including 18-8 on the offensive glass.

Lewis led EMU with his 15 points off the bench. Aaron Brooks added 13 points, while Zach Bailey and Isaiah Carr each had 12 points for the Royals. EMU shot 46% (28-61) from the field, including 38% (8-21) on three-pointers, and 88% (14-16) at the line.

EMU finished its season at 5-20 overall, 2-14 in the ODAC, and was led by Payton Lewis with 15 points off the bench.