SALEM, VA—Hampden-Sydney College, powered by an explosive first half, claimed the 2007 ODAC Men's Basketball Championship title, defeating Roanoke College 77-62 for its tenth conference crown. Senior Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward School) was named for the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scoring 71 points over the course of the three games, including a career-high 27 point performance against Roanoke. He made all five of his shots from deep and also collected two steals.
"I just came out ready to play," said Edwards. "My teammates were behind me. They were behind me ever since day one, and I am happy that it happened for us."
Junior Tyler Murray (Atlanta, GA/Harrison) chipped in his second double-double of the tournament, registering 15 points and 14 rebounds, while freshman Turner King (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) added 13 points and six rebounds.
A.J. Dowell led the Maroons with 20 points and four assists. He made 8-of-12 foul shots. Sophomore Curtis Peery chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, while juniors Ben Shrader and Josh LaPorte added nine apiece.
Hampden-Sydney opened the game firing on all cylinders. Three early Roanoke miscues, a pair of threes from Edwards and one from Lane Medlin (West Point, VA/Fork Union) helped the Tigers build an early 11-3 lead. Sophomore Jyri Laakso (Oulu, Finland/Makelanrinne) pushed the advantage further with a put-back of his own miss for a 13-3 lead with 15:15 on the clock. Edwards kept Roanoke on its heels with his third shot from long-distance, forcing Roanoke to call a timeout.
The Tigers continued to increase its lead following the pause in play, making the score 26-4 after two more three-pointers, one from Murray and the fourth for Edwards. Tee Jackson finally took the lid off the rim for the Maroons, give them their first field goal with a three-pointer at the 8:55 mark. Zach Milton followed with a lay-up to cut the deficit down to 28-9, but a lay-up by Murray and another triple from Edwards pushed the Tigers lead to 24 at 33-9 with 6:53 on the clock. A pair of free throws and lay-in by Dowell gave the Maroon attack a bit of rhythm, but it was short-lived as Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan School) hit a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 42-14 halftime lead.
Shrader started the second frame on a better note for the Maroons, hitting a three-pointer inside of one minute gone. He hit a second with 17:30 mark followed by a LaPorte lay-up to pull the score to 44-22. Peery pulled Roanoke within 19 at 47-28 after the front-end of two free-throws, and Dowell cut the deficit to 17 with a hanging jumper in the lane at the 14:13 mark. A jumper by Peery and one by Schrader got the Maroons to within 13 points, the closest they had been since 14:19 of the first half.
Murray calmed Roanoke's run with a lay-up with 12:11 to play, and Laakso completed a three-point play to move Hampden-Sydney back out by 18 at 52-34. The margin hovered around 16 points for several minutes before Dowell canned a three with 8:35 to play to make the score 58-45. LaPorte kept the difference at 13 with his first make from behind-the-arc, while an 18-footer by Peery with 4:11 pulled Roanoke within 12 at 66-54.
Edwards picked up his 22nd point of the game with the first of two from the line, and King put back his second miss to put Hampden-Sydney back up by 15 at 69-54. Three more free-throws by Edwards moved the Tigers out to a 72-56 edge.
A toss by Schrader and transition lay-up by Drew Gaeng pulled Roanoke to within 10 at 72-62 with 1:10 to play, but a combination of missed shots from deep and converted Hampden-Sydeny free throws closed out the game for the Tigers.
The Tigers shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor, made 8-of-16 (50%) from three-point range and dropped in 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the foul line. The Maroons finished the game at 20-of-55 (36.4%) from the field and made 6-of-19 (31.6%) shots from behind-the-arc. Roanoke hit 16-of-25 (64%) attempts from the charity stripe. The Tigers out-rebounded the Maroons, 39-31.
