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VIRGINIA BEACH – Make that eight wins in a row. It came down to the final minutes, but the Hampden-Sydney Tigers picked up a 73-66 road win over Virginia Wesleyan University Wednesday night. 

Junior Adam Brazil scored 17 points to lead the 18-ranked Tigers, with fellow junior Davidson Hubbard adding 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. With the win, the Tigers improve to 17-4 on the season and 11-1 in conference play. It was the Tigers’ first win at Virginia Wesleyan since February 21, 2009.

“Big win tonight,” said Tigers head coach Caleb Kimbrough. “We really showed our versatility with several different guys making plays at different moments. We fouled way too much and need to clean that up, but we found a way to get it done.”

How it happened

Hampden-Sydney yielded the first five points of the contest and trailed 11-3 at 16:11. Baskets inside by Hubbard and Hardy, along with a three-point field goal from Wright, had the Tigers within 11-10 at 14:41, and seven quick points by Wright, including another three-pointer, tied it at 17-17 with 8:43 on the clock.

VWU led 23-20 at 4:51, but the Garnet & Grey scored eight unanswered points to lead 28-23 at 3:12-the scoring from freshman Ryan Blakey, Brazil and senior Chase Turner-including a three-pointer by Brazil at 3:43 for the first lead of the night by the visitors. 

Hampden-Sydney maintained its momentum and led 35-32 at the intermission, outscoring the Marlins 15-9 over the final 4:18.

VWU closed to within 37-36 early in the second half, but H-SC responded with a 14-6 run to lead 51-40 at 13:15 for its largest lead of the contest. Hubbard started the quick run with a slam dunk off an out-of-bounds play, while Brazil added seven points, including a three-pointer, and senior Miles Harris (Virginia Beach) had a three-pointer, as well. 

A jumper at the end of the shot-clock by Brazil had the Tigers ahead 53-44 at 11:09, before the Marlins used a quick 8-2 run to get to within 55-52 at 8:33. The Garnet & Grey, however, answered with an 8-3 run to lead 63-55 with 5:20 remaining-getting consecutive baskets inside by Hardy, a reverse layup from Brazil and a jump hook in the lane by junior Alex Elliott. VWU was within 63-60 at 4:36, but H-SC secured the outcome with seven-straight points from Hubbard, before senior Ryan Clements made 3-4 free throws toward the final margin. 

Hampden-Sydney, by the numbers

Brazil led H-SC with his 17 points, adding a game-high two steals. Hubbard finished with his 13 points and game-high nine rebounds, adding three assists for the Tigers. Hardy and Wright each contributed 10 points, with Hardy adding a game-high nine rebounds. Blakey had six points and a game-high two steals off the bench, while Clements added five points, seven rebounds and a game-high four assists. H-SC shot 44% (28-64) from the field, including 44% (8-18) on three-pointers, and 56% (9-16) at the free throw line.

DeVeaux led VWU with his game-high 20 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Jordan Crump had 18 points and six rebounds for the Marlins. VWU shot 37% (20-54) from the field, including 32% (9-28) on three-pointers, and 68% (17-25) at the line.

Up next on the schedule

H-SC returns home to welcome ODAC member Shenandoah University on Saturday, February 4, at 2 p.m. in S. Douglas Fleet Gymnasium at Kirby Field House. It’s free admission for all regular season home contests-only two remain this season-and the game will be available to watch on the Tiger Sports Network live video stream at hscathletics.com, pregame airing at 1:30 p.m.