SALEM, VA--Outscored 42-28 in the second half of play, the Roanoke College men's basketball team lost to the Lynchburg College Hornets for the first time since the 1996-97 season with a 75-62 decision on Monday evening in Salem, VA. The loss was also just the second for the Maroons in the past 37 meetings. Roanoke falls to 8-6 overall on the season with their third consecutive loss and now stand at 2-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Hornets improve to 5-9 overall and 2-5 in league play. The win snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Maroons.
Lynchburg's defense in the early stages of the second half proved to be the major difference. The Maroons were unable to score a single point for the 5:40 of the second half. In that time, the Hornets jumped out to a seven-point lead, 41-34. With the Maroons settling on outside shots that weren't falling, the Hornets were able to push their lead out to as many as 13 points before a small RC run trimmed the lead back down to five, 61-56, with 4:41 to go. The Maroons again relied on the outside shot, with nothing falling, and again Lynchburg pushed the lead back out to double-digits.
In all, Roanoke made just nine second half field goals and went a total of 3-for-19 from three-point range. The Hornets, on the other hand, shot 46 percent from the floor in the second half, making 4-of-10 three-point shots. The Hornets also forced 12 second half Roanoke turnovers and outrebounded the Maroons 21-15 in the final 20 minutes. The Maroons have been outrebounded for the fourth consecutive game for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
Dedrick Craft burned the Maroons for 17 points, all of them coming in the second half of play. Craft hit three three-pointers in the second half and also added five rebounds. Freshman Pete Manos torched Roanoke for 14 points, also making three three-pointers and adding four steals. As a team, the Hornets had 15 steals in the contest.
Kevinn Hunter scored 10 points for the Maroons, but only got off four shots, all of which he hit. Hunter also added nine rebounds for the Maroons who also turned the ball over 22 times.
The path gets no easier for the Maroons with a road game at Bridgewater College on Wednesday at 7:00pm. The Maroons then host nationally ranked Randolph-Macon on Saturday and regional power Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday.
