Posted: Dec 05, 2009
SALEM, Va. --- Melvin Felix (Caguas, Puerto Rico, Salem)scored 19 of his team-high 24 points and canned 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help Roanoke College erase a five-point halftime deficit and pull out a 95-88 victory in a shootout against Lynchburg College on Saturday evening in the C. Homer Bast Center.
Roanoke improves to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the ODAC competition while the Hornets fall to 1-6 overall, 0-2 in the conference action. The Maroons are now 116-22 against LC, marking the most wins for Roanoke against any other squad in program history. Roanoke has won 12 straight against Lynchburg and 26 of the past 28 matchups.
Down by as many as 10 points in the first half and five at the intermission, Roanoke fought its way back with a 58-point second frame and clutch shooting from all areas of the court to win for the second time this season when trailing at the intermission. RC shot 54.8-percent from the field in the second half and an even 50-percent for the game, but the real difference was made at the foul line. The Maroons converted 28-of-38 tries from the charity stripe, out-scoring LC by 13 points with the clock frozen. They knocked down 10-of-13 foul shots with under two minutes to play as Lynchburg attempted to recover an 11-point hole.
Felix sparked the second-half surge with his 19-point burst, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line. Logan Singleton (Roanoke, VA, Hidden Valley)notched 12 of his 15 points in the second half, adding six rebounds to his overall effort. Kendrick Chittock (Auburn, OH, University School)collected his second double-double of the season, registering 10 points and 10 boards. Papa Fall (Senegal, South Kent School (CT))had the best outing of his young career, reaching double figures for the first time with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Matt Crizer (Covington, VA, Alleghany)and Michael McGeough (Danville, VA, George Washington)both had nine points with McGeough adding 11 rebounds to his line.
A solid as Felix was for Roanoke, Lynchburg's Steven Echols matched his production, albeit in a more eye-opening manner. The Hornets' athletic point guard routinely made his way to rim and foul line, also collecting 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. He was 9-of-12 from the foul line, adding six boards. eight assists and four steals to his evening totals.
Brad Puffenbarger notched 11 points for the Hornets, hitting 3-of-6 beyond the arc. Brandon Connor added 10 points, five boards and five steals. Jeff Langrock, Nathan Campbell and Robby Kaiser each chipped in eight points. Michael Wims had a team-high eight rebounds.
Roanoke opened up an early 5-0 lead following a three-point play from Singleton at the 17:36 mark. Lynchburg went on a 10-2 run to earn its first lead following jumpers from Echols and Campbell with 14:28 to go in the half. The Hornets lead hit five points at 16-11 following another two points from Echols with 12:43 on the scoreboard.
Roanoke improves to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the ODAC competition while the Hornets fall to 1-6 overall, 0-2 in the conference action. The Maroons are now 116-22 against LC, marking the most wins for Roanoke against any other squad in program history. Roanoke has won 12 straight against Lynchburg and 26 of the past 28 matchups.
Down by as many as 10 points in the first half and five at the intermission, Roanoke fought its way back with a 58-point second frame and clutch shooting from all areas of the court to win for the second time this season when trailing at the intermission. RC shot 54.8-percent from the field in the second half and an even 50-percent for the game, but the real difference was made at the foul line. The Maroons converted 28-of-38 tries from the charity stripe, out-scoring LC by 13 points with the clock frozen. They knocked down 10-of-13 foul shots with under two minutes to play as Lynchburg attempted to recover an 11-point hole.
Felix sparked the second-half surge with his 19-point burst, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 10-of-12 from the line. Logan Singleton (Roanoke, VA, Hidden Valley)notched 12 of his 15 points in the second half, adding six rebounds to his overall effort. Kendrick Chittock (Auburn, OH, University School)collected his second double-double of the season, registering 10 points and 10 boards. Papa Fall (Senegal, South Kent School (CT))had the best outing of his young career, reaching double figures for the first time with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Matt Crizer (Covington, VA, Alleghany)and Michael McGeough (Danville, VA, George Washington)both had nine points with McGeough adding 11 rebounds to his line.
A solid as Felix was for Roanoke, Lynchburg's Steven Echols matched his production, albeit in a more eye-opening manner. The Hornets' athletic point guard routinely made his way to rim and foul line, also collecting 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. He was 9-of-12 from the foul line, adding six boards. eight assists and four steals to his evening totals.
Brad Puffenbarger notched 11 points for the Hornets, hitting 3-of-6 beyond the arc. Brandon Connor added 10 points, five boards and five steals. Jeff Langrock, Nathan Campbell and Robby Kaiser each chipped in eight points. Michael Wims had a team-high eight rebounds.
Roanoke opened up an early 5-0 lead following a three-point play from Singleton at the 17:36 mark. Lynchburg went on a 10-2 run to earn its first lead following jumpers from Echols and Campbell with 14:28 to go in the half. The Hornets lead hit five points at 16-11 following another two points from Echols with 12:43 on the scoreboard.
Turnovers hurt the Maroons early in the first half as they had given away possession 10 times before 10 minutes were gone from the game clock. The miscues helped Lynchburg to its largest lead of the game at 27-17 with 7:55 showing. Four points from Quasi Amponsah and a layup from Crizer pulled Roanoke to within at 27-23, but a three-pointer from Puffenbarger and a jumper from Langrock pushed LC's edge back to nine points with 5:48 to go.
Lynchburg's lead reached 10 points for a second time following a long-distance make from K.C. Mendez, but that bucket spurred an 11-0 burst from Roanoke as it took the lead, 36-35, following a jumper from McGeough. Felix collected five points during that stretch.
Mike Roach calmed Roanoke's run with a three-pointer, regaining the lead for Lynchburg. The Hornets added buckets from Brad Kenney and Connor to go into the break ahead, 42-37.
Connor extended Lynchburg's lead to eight points with a three-pointer less than two minutes into the second stanza. Following a few minutes of back-and-forth buckets, Roanoke began slicing into the Hornets' lead. Down 51-44 with 16:43 to play, RC went on a 13-3 run over the next 4:36 to take a three-point lead at 57-54.
Lynchburg's lead reached 10 points for a second time following a long-distance make from K.C. Mendez, but that bucket spurred an 11-0 burst from Roanoke as it took the lead, 36-35, following a jumper from McGeough. Felix collected five points during that stretch.
Mike Roach calmed Roanoke's run with a three-pointer, regaining the lead for Lynchburg. The Hornets added buckets from Brad Kenney and Connor to go into the break ahead, 42-37.
Connor extended Lynchburg's lead to eight points with a three-pointer less than two minutes into the second stanza. Following a few minutes of back-and-forth buckets, Roanoke began slicing into the Hornets' lead. Down 51-44 with 16:43 to play, RC went on a 13-3 run over the next 4:36 to take a three-point lead at 57-54.
The teams started trading jabs with Lynchburg briefly enjoying a 66-63 lead with 7:59 to go, but Roanoke quickly claimed its own three-point margin following a fast-break dunk from McGeough. Unaffected by the score, Connor knocked down a jumper from beyond the arc, tying the score for a sixth time at 69-69 with 6:15 on the clock.
That tie would be the last of the game as Felix countered Connor's effort with his own triple, igniting a 15-4 run that saw Roanoke go up by 11 at 84-74 with 1:36 to play. After that, it was all about converting free throws, which RC did well enough to not allow Lynchburg any closer than five points at 91-86 with 00:29 to play.
Felix made 3-of-4 from the line, with Corey Poindexter (Pulaski, VA, Pulaski County/Hargrave)adding a pair with five seconds left, to secure the 95-88 victory.
That tie would be the last of the game as Felix countered Connor's effort with his own triple, igniting a 15-4 run that saw Roanoke go up by 11 at 84-74 with 1:36 to play. After that, it was all about converting free throws, which RC did well enough to not allow Lynchburg any closer than five points at 91-86 with 00:29 to play.
Felix made 3-of-4 from the line, with Corey Poindexter (Pulaski, VA, Pulaski County/Hargrave)adding a pair with five seconds left, to secure the 95-88 victory.
Roanoke returns to action on Sunday, December 13, as they make the trip down I-81 to Radford University. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. in Radford.
Check out more information on Roanoke's new athletics website at http://maroons.roanoke.edu/. The website features top stories, scores, stats, photo galleries, archive information and much more. Make sure to sign up for text alerts to get athletic updates sent right to your phone. You can sign up by going to the athletics homepage and click “Get Text Alerts” on the right.
Did you know you can view all home games live online? Click on the “Watch Games Live” ad from the athletics homepage to get live webcasts of each home athletic scheduled event. You can also access live stats for each home event and select away games by clicking our “Live Stats” link on the athletic homepage. To keep up to date with Maroon athletics from your mobile phone or PDA, please visit m.roanoke.edu/sports.
Check out more information on Roanoke's new athletics website at http://maroons.roanoke.edu/. The website features top stories, scores, stats, photo galleries, archive information and much more. Make sure to sign up for text alerts to get athletic updates sent right to your phone. You can sign up by going to the athletics homepage and click “Get Text Alerts” on the right.
Did you know you can view all home games live online? Click on the “Watch Games Live” ad from the athletics homepage to get live webcasts of each home athletic scheduled event. You can also access live stats for each home event and select away games by clicking our “Live Stats” link on the athletic homepage. To keep up to date with Maroon athletics from your mobile phone or PDA, please visit m.roanoke.edu/sports.
