SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College and Maryville (TN) College men's basketball teams both picked up wins in the first round of the V-Foundation Classic hosted by Roanoke College in Salem VA. The two teams will meet at 7:30 on Wednesday night for the championship of the two-day event. The Maroons picked up a come-from-behind win over Babson (MA) on Tuesday, while Maryville had little trouble with Ripon (WI) in the tournament's first game, beating the Red Hawks, 84-46. Ripon and Babson will play in the consolation game at 5:00 on Wednesday.
Roanoke outscored Babson 14-7 over the final 4:44 of the contest to come from as much as seven points behind to post its fifth win of the season. The win snapped a two-game home losing streak for the Maroons, who got a career-high 16 points from sophomore guard Mikal Townsend (South Boston, VA/Halifax County). The Maroons improve to 5-3 on the season and avoid their first three-game home losing streak since the 1976-77 season.
The Maroons continued their home shooting woes, knocking in just 39.4 percent of their field goals on the day. Babson took a 31-28 lead into halftime, but was able to score just two points in the final 3:21 of the game. The Maroons outscored the Beavers 11-7 from the free throw line in the second half, converting on 73.3 percent of their attempts in the second frame.
In addition to Townsend's career night, the Maroons also got 15 points and 12 rebounds from Colby Leftwich (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) and 14 points from Brad Dunleavy (Roanoke, VA/William Fleming) who played in just 18 minutes.
Freshman Jeff Hines (Waltham, MA/Waltham) led all scorers in the game, scoring 19 point for the Beavers, who fall to 3-5 on the year. The Beavers picked up the loss despite shooting 50 percent (13-for-26) from the field in the second half. Chris Michalkowski (Bristol, CT/St. Paul Catholic) chipped in 14 points to the BC effort. The Beavers had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer, but a Hines three-point attempt fell just short.
