For: Immediate Release January 2, 2002
Maroons to Take on Savannah A&D Again
RC Defeats E. Ct State, 75-66, Bees Over Averett 69-61
SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men’s basketball team will face the Savannah College of Art & Design Bees in the title game of the V-Foundation Classic in Salem, VA after defeating the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors, 75-66, on Wednesday. The Maroons and Bees will play at 7:30pm on Thursday for the title. Averett and ECSU will play the consolation contest at 5:00pm. Savannah A&D was victorious over Averett 69-61 in the tournament’s first contest. The games were part of RC’s 9th Annual V-Foundation Classic which raises money for the V-Foundation and the American Cancer Society. On Wednesday, the tournament raised $622 in a raffle, adding to the $50,000 the tournament has collected over the past eight seasons. Thursday will bring in more money, which is split between the two organizations with another raffle and a silent auction. Roanoke 75, Eastern Connecticut 66
The Maroons nearly blew a 22-point second half lead in the 75-66 win over the Warriors of ECSU. Roanoke improves to 5-4 on the year, while the Warriors drop to 4-6. The Maroons also improve to 16-1 all-time in the V-Foundation Classic.The Maroons led by 12 points at the half and pushed the lead to as much as 22 midway through the second half. Roanoke led by 18 with 6:54 left in the contest, but the Warriors used a 17-5 run to trim the lead to just six points with 3:13 to go. The Warriors cut the lead to as few as five points, but Roanoke free throws down the stretch kept ECSU at bay.
A sizable rebounding advantage early in the game propelled the Warriors to a lead of as much as four points in the first half. Getting stronger on the boards, the Maroons took the lead for good with 7:32 to go in the first half on a basket by senior guard Jaimar Mansel. The Maroons opened the second half with a 19-5 spurt to extend the lead to 22 before watching the Warriors battle back.
Robby Pridgen scored 23 points for the Maroons, eight of which came from the free throw line with less than four minutes to go in the contest. Josh Foster added 16 points eight rebounds and three blocks, while junior center Heath Puckett added a career-high 10 rebounds. Gordon Shepard paced ECSU with 19 points, while Rich Vega and Jason Leydon each added 16. Vega came into the contest averaging 17.3 points per game, but missed his first 11 shots from the field. All but one of his 16 points came with less than 11 minutes to go in the contest.
Savannah A&D 69, Averett 61
Savannah College of Art and Designed used a 42-33 second to overcome a one-point halftime deficit to defeat the Averett University Cougars, 69-61, in the first game of the V-Foundation Classic. The Bees, who improve to 10-6 on the season, held Averett to just 30 percent from the field in the second half, while shooting 48 percent themselves. The Cougars fall to 2-7 on the year with their fifth consecutive loss.The Cougars led for all but one minute in the first half, taking as much as a seven-point lead. The Bees were able to cut the lead to just one, 28-27, at the break thanks to a 4-0 run over the final 1:48 of the first period. Senior Marcus Ross hit a jumper 1:56 into the second half to give the Bees a 29-28 lead, an advantage they would hold for most of the second half. The Bees pushed their lead to as many as 13 points in the second half, that with 13:35 to go. Averett stormed back to take a 56-55 lead with 4:12 left to play in the game, but was able to get just five points the rest of the way, while SCAD hit 12 free throws in that span to make up the difference.
Ross led the way for the Bees with 17 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. Wesley Adams was SCAD’s leading scorer with 19 points, while Paul Otim added nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Masa Kaminen was the leading scorer for the Cougars, getting 18 off the bench. All 18 of Kaminen’s points came from three-point land where he was 6-for-9. Charles Holloway scored 10 points and had five assists for the Cougars.