SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team will face the Savannah College of Art & Design Bees in the title game of the V-Foundation Classic in Salem, VA after defeating the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors, 75-66, on Wednesday. The Maroons and Bees will play at 7:30pm on Thursday for the title. Averett and ECSU will play the consolation contest at 5:00pm. Savannah A&D was victorious over Averett 69-61 in the tournament's first contest.
The games were part of RC's 9th Annual V-Foundation Classic which raises money for the V-Foundation and the American Cancer Society. On Wednesday, the tournament raised $622 in a raffle, adding to the $50,000 the tournament has collected over the past eight seasons. Thursday will bring in more money, which is split between the two organizations with another raffle and a silent auction.
The Maroons nearly blew a 22-point second half lead in the 75-66 win over the Warriors of ECSU. Roanoke improves to 5-4 on the year, while the Warriors drop to 4-6. The Maroons also improve to 16-1 all-time in the V-Foundation Classic.
The Maroons led by 12 points at the half and pushed the lead to as much as 22 midway through the second half. Roanoke led by 18 with 6:54 left in the contest, but the Warriors used a 17-5 run to trim the lead to just six points with 3:13 to go. The Warriors cut the lead to as few as five points, but Roanoke free throws down the stretch kept ECSU at bay.
A sizable rebounding advantage early in the game propelled the Warriors to a lead of as much as four points in the first half. Getting stronger on the boards, the Maroons took the lead for good with 7:32 to go in the first half on a basket by senior guard Jaimar Mansel. The Maroons opened the second half with a 19-5 spurt to extend the lead to 22 before watching the Warriors battle back.
Robby Pridgen scored 23 points for the Maroons, eight of which came from the free throw line with less than four minutes to go in the contest. Josh Foster added 16 points eight rebounds and three blocks, while junior center Heath Puckett added a career-high 10 rebounds. Gordon Shepard paced ECSU with 19 points, while Rich Vega and Jason Leydon each added 16. Vega came into the contest averaging 17.3 points per game, but missed his first 11 shots from the field. All but one of his 16 points came with less than 11 minutes to go in the contest.
