SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College and Hampden-Sydney College men's basketball teams both piocked up wins on the second day of the V-Foundation Classic to claim the championship of the two day event. Host Roanoke defeated Ithaca College 68-64 while Hampden-Sydney downed Springfield 73-70. Both teams improved to 2-0 on the season. Springfield and Ithaca both fall to 0-2. Roanoke's
Jared Butler and Hampden-Sydney's Troy Kaase were named co-MVPs of the tournament. Roanoke's
Ben Shrader and HSC's Mike Edwards were also on the All-Tournament team, as were Springfield's Derek Yvon and Ithaca's Brian Andruskiewicz.
Roanoke 68, Ithaca 64
Roanoke (2-0) rallied in the second half and got a double-double from Josh LaPorte to defeat Ithaca 68-64 and win their second game of the V Foundation Classic in Salem, Va. The Bombers drop to 0-2 on the season.
Down 11-10, the Maroons went on an 8-0 run midway through the first half, keyed by three-pointers from Ben Shrader and Tee Jackson. Ithaca then responded with a 16-2 run of their own to make it 27-20 with four minutes to go in the half. The Bombers maintained their lead and the two teams went into the locker rooms with Ithaca up 33-29 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bombers got their lead as high as eight points, that after a layup from Brian Andruskiewicz with 17:51 to go, but Roanoke worked their way back and took a 46-44 lead on a jumper by Curtis Perry with ten minutes to go. The two teams traded leads until 3:59, when Keith Carter's free throw put the Maroons up for good. Ithaca made things interesting when, with five seconds left and the Bombers down by three, Brian Joe was fouled while attempting a three-pointer, but Joe was only able to make one of the three shots and Roanoke escaped with the victory.
LaPorte finished the afternoon with fifteen points and fourteen rebounds; thirteen of his points came in the second half. Jared Butler led the Maroons with 17 points and five steals, while Ben Shrader chipped in with ten points. Ithaca was led by Jim Bellis' sixteen points and Jonathan Whetstone's ten rebounds. Roanoke shot 40 percent from the field, while the Bombers ended the day shooting 39 percent, going 12-for-31 in both halves.
Next up for the Maroons is a trip to Ferrum on Tuesday, while Ithaca is at Division II Mansfield on December 1.
Hampden-Sydney 73, Springfield 70
Hampden-Sydney used a barrage of second-half three-pointers to come from behind and down Springfield 73-70 in the second day of the V Foundation Classic in Salem, Va. The Tigers improve to 2-0 on the year, while the Pride fall to 0-2.
The first half was back-and-forth as neither team had a lead of more than four points at any time in the half; the teams went into halftime tied at 30. Hampden-Sydney struggled somewhat from the field, only shooting 35 percent from the field and going just one for seven from behind the three-point arc. Springfield made 11 of 25 field goals in the half (44%). Mike DeCesar led the Pride with eight first-half points, while Drew Prehmus and Mike Edwards had six apiece for the Tigers.
Hampden-Sydney went ahead 42-38 on Edwards' three-pointer with 14:47 to go in the second half, but from there Springfield went on a 16-4 run to build an eight-point lead with 9:08 left.
The Tigers then got back into the game with a three-pointer by Matt Green and a layup by Kevin Forrester; Green then hit three more three-pointers over the next six minutes, including one at 3:16 to put Hampden-Sydney ahead 63-60, a lead they would not relinquish.
Five players ended the afternoon in double figures for the Tigers, who were led by Troy Kaase's fifteen points; Hampden-Sydney also shot 51 percent from the field in the half, including 7 for 12 from three-point range. Drew Prehmus led the Tigers with eight rebounds, all of them off the defensive glass. For the Pride, Derek Yvon led the way with 19 points, while Damian Farley added seven rebounds.
Hampden-Sydney's next game is at Ferrum on the 27th; Springfield is home to Tufts on Tuesday.
