Maroons Season Ends in ODAC Quarters - WSLS 10 NBC in Roanoke/Lynchburg Va

Courtesy: Roanoke College Athletics

SALEM – The Roanoke College men's basketball team fell in the ODAC Quarterfinals to #12 ranked Hampden-Sydney on Saturday evening.  The Maroons finish the season with a record of 11-16 while Hampden-Sydney advances with a mark of 23-3.
 
The 2012-13 season proved to be a year of many standout performances from multiple Maroon student-athletes.  During the season, both Kwasi Amponsah and Julian Ramriez were named ODAC Players of the Week, while Amponsah earned Second Team All-ODAC honors.  Amponsah finished the season with 1,291 points, which ranks 17^th all-time in scoring at Roanoke College.  During the postseason, Daniel Eacho set an ODAC Tournament record in rebounds, pulling down 22 in the opening round contest.  He also finished the season with an impressive nine double-doubles.
 
Julian Ramirez led the Maroons in scoring on the night with 12 points, along with two rebounds, two steals and two assists.  Also in double-digits for Roanoke was Jordan Thacker, scoring 10 points.  Cameron Smith and Daniel Eacho were the top rebounders for the squad, pulling down five rebounds each.
 
The Maroons took their first lead of the game at the 14:36 mark when Cameron Smith knocked down a three pointer from the corner to go up 7-6.  Roanoke worked on an 8-0 run, capped by an Andrew Daniels trey to put Roanoke ahead 12-6 with 13:37 to play in the period.  The Tigers responded with a 12-2 run of their own, taking a one-point lead with 9:17 on the clock. 
 
Hampden-Sydney went up by as many as six points, as Khobi Williamson scored six straight, to go up 20-14.  Roanoke fought back, outscoring the Tigers 9-2 through the 4:19 mark to take a 23-22 lead.  The lead changed hands five times over the next three minutes until Hampden-Sydney scored the final eight points of the half, giving the Tigers a 35-28 lead as the teams entered the locker room.
 
At the half, Jordan Thacker led Roanoke in scoring with eight points, followed by Cameron Smith with seven.  Smith and Daniel Eacho had a team-high three rebounds each.  For Hampden-Sydney, Khobi Williamson had 10 points, in just 10 minutes of play.
 
Greg Lewis scored the first five points of the second half for the Tigers, giving Hampden-Sydney an early 40-28 lead.  Roanoke trailed by 12 through the 15:00 mark in the period, until Julian Ramirez hit a big three pointer to pull within nine, 45-36.  Over the next seven minutes, Hampden Sydney went on a 18-4 run, building a lead of 23, 63-40.  Ramirez scored twice for the Maroons to cut the deficit to 21 on two different occasions, but Roanoke was unable to pull within 20, as Hampden-Sydney came away with the ODAC Quarterfinal win, 72-49.
 
Hampden-Sydney outshot Roanoke 42 to 31 percent from the field, while the Maroons held the advantage from behind the arc, 28 to 22 percent.  The Maroons also held the edge on the free throw line, 73 to 71 percent.  The Tigers led in rebounds, 46-33
 
With the win, Hampden-Sydney advances to the ODAC Semifinal round, playing at 8:00 PM on Saturday, February 23^rd.  For more information on the 2013 ODAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, go to http://www.odaconline.com.