SALEM, VA--Trailing 28-21 at halftime, the Roanoke College men's basketball team scored the first 10 points of the second half and did not surrendered the lead the rest of the way in a 58-44 win over Lynchburg on Sunday afternoon in Salem, VA.
The Maroons, who were coming off of a win over Hampden-Sydney on Saturday, improve to 10-5 on the season and even their Old Dominion Athletic Conference record at 4-4. The Hornets, who have now lost three straight games to the Maroons, fall to 2-14 overall and 2-7 in league action.
The Maroons trailed by seven at the break after making just eight of their 30 attempts in the first half, a 26.7 shooting percentage. The team, however, responded by making 60 percent, 12-for-20, in the second half. After missing their first shot of the second half, the Maroons got the offensive rebound and Jared Butler brought the hosts to within five with a 15-foot jumper. About a minute later Butler made a three-pointer to make the score 28-26 in Lynchburg's favor. After an LC miss, Butler again drained a three, this one giving the Maroons a 29-28 lead. The Maroons would not trail again.
A Tee Jackson layup and Curtis Peery short jumper capped the Roanoke 10-0 run, that giving the team a 33-28 lead. A three-point play from Pat Prior brought LC to within two points, 33-31, but that would be as close as the Hornets would get. Roanoke sophomore Ben Shrader, who made just one of his six shots in the first, connected on back-to-back threes, the second from the corner, to make the Maroons lead eight, 39-31.
Lynchburg cut that lead in half with two baskets in close, but Roanoke then put together a 9-1 run to extend its lead to 12 points, 48-36. Ty Sigmon scored on a put-back layup, Curtis Peery hit two free throws, Butler his third three of the half, and Shrader knocked down a jumper from the wing to account for the points. The Maroon lead would get out to as many and Lynchburg could get no closer than 11 points.
Lynchburg took a quick lead in the first half, connecting on its first three shots, all three-pointers. Andy Albright opened the scoring and Matt Sweeney followed with two straight triples. The Hornets would twice have eight-point leads in the first five minutes and would get their lead out to as many as nine points, that on two David Sheaffer free throws with 1:08 left. Peery scored the final two points of the half for RC, making the score 28-21 at the break.
Butler failed to make any of his six shots in the first half, but made all four of his shots in the second half, finishing the game with 11 points. He also had three assists and two steals. Shrader went 3-for-4 from the field in the second half and led all Maroon scorers with 15 points. Josh LaPorte had 12 rebounds, giving him a total of 27 in the last two games.
The Maroon defense limited the Hornets to just 16 points in the second half and just five second half field goals. After scoring 28 first half points, the Hornets did not score their 10th point of the second half until 5:08 showed on the game clock. Prior led all scorers with 18 points. Sweeney scored 11, six coming on those early three-pointers.
The Maroons return to action on Saturday in a road game against nationally-ranked Randolph-Macon. The team will then plat at Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday.
