Mike Murray and his teammates have had their own sports tour this season. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

In addition to designing plays, breaking down video, and speaking with players, Hampden-Sydney coach Dee Vick has also spent plenty of time reading maps, preparing flight itineraries and making sure his travel party had all of their IDs.

Thanks to a pair of HSC alums in high places, this season’s Tiger team enjoyed the non-conference schedule of a lifetime. Hampden-Sydney played games in Puerto Rico, Las Vegas and California. They also had a game televised nationally on ESPNU. Though many of the memorable moments and selfies live forever on social media, the Tigers finished that daunting travel schedule with a 9-2 record and a lifetime of stories.

“We’ve had an awesome schedule,” Vick said. “We feel fortunate to have had an opportunity to experience this type of schedule thanks to a lot of loyal alumni. Our alum stepped up and donated to allow our players to experience these trips. We believe that trips like this are part of the educational experience for our student-athletes. It’s been awesome for our team chemistry.”

So how exactly did the Tigers get to enjoy traveling all over the country?

They were invited to compete in the Armed Forces Classic because the U.S. Coast Guard Academy needed an opponent and its athletic director Tim Fitzpatrick is a 1981 HSC graduate. The Tigers were then invited to compete in last week’s D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas, so Vick figured it would be an excellent time to reach out to UC-Irvine head coach Russell Turner, also a HSC alum.

“Playing in the Armed Forces Classic was an awesome opportunity that we lucked into,” Vick said. “We had been trying to schedule a game with a Division I program for quite some time. That game has been in the works for about six years and he finally agreed to playing. When we were invited to play in the D3hoops.com Classic, we figured we could make it a west coast trip.”

Before flying to Las Vegas on Dec. 27, the Tigers practiced at North Carolina State. After splitting two games at D3hoops.com Classic, the team drove to Irvine where it played on New Year’s Eve. They flew back to the east coast on New Year’s Day.

Earlier in the season, the Tigers made the most of their time in Puerto Rico by touring the Coast Guard base in Aguadilla. They arrived in town the day after a major drug bust and were given a detailed description of how they bust went down. The Tigers were also able to enjoy the local cuisine before finishing the trip with a 73-41 victory in a game played at the US Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen.

“That gave our guys a greater appreciation for what the Coast Guard does,” Vick said. “I know as a parent, I am thankful for what they do for us and how they protect us.”

Of course, while the sight-seeing adventures were nice, the trips did serve another immediate purpose of preparing HSC for the rugged world of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference battles. Vick learned plenty about his team and the end of the trip was a challenge as the Tigers played three games in four days.

From Puerto Rico, to Las Vegas, to California, Hampden-Sydney has traveled quite a bit this season.

Hampden-Sydney has been one of the premiere Division III programs in the nation for decades, having participated in 14 NCAA tournaments in the last 25 years. Thanks to the leadership and experience of its senior triumvirate of Alex Smith, Leon Hargrove and Greg Lewis, HSC has a solid foundation in place to create more memories this season. Lewis is averaging 10.6 points per outing.

While the leadership of that trio is valued, quicksilver junior guard Mike Murray has become a must-see attraction for the Tigers. Murray’s 15.6 points-per-game are seventh best in the ODAC. He has scored in double figures nine times this season and 33 for his sterling career. He pumped in a career best 27 points in a 69-55 win over Wartburg in the first game of the D3hoops.com Classic.  

“Those three have been with us for four years and their approach to practice and the way they lock in on the scouting report has set the tone for the underclassmen,” Vick said. “Mike has been playing sensational for us. He’s a tremendous winner and doing a great job for us. We’re excited where we are as a team heading into the rest of our schedule.”

Adding to Hampden-Sydney’s balanced scoring are Jake Duncan (9.0), Mitch Owens (7.8 ppg), and Gui Guimarães (6.9). Guimarães is coming off of a career day in which he recorded his first career double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 75-57 win over William Peace last Saturday.

The Tigers have been tested early as four of their games have been decided by four points or less. Hampden-Sydney is 3-1 in those games. The Tigers have been winning on the defensive end, holding opponents to 58.5 points-per-game on 39.7 percent shooting, while outscoring them by 7.8 points. Offensively, the team is scoring over 66 points-per-game while hitting 44.4 percent of its field goals, 38.5 percent of its threes, and 63.8 percent of its free throws.

Once this season’s schedule was finalized, players couldn’t wait to begin the season. Vick also mentioned that his schedule also helped him land some key recruits.

“They were extremely excited and fired up,” Vick said. “This is a special program. There are high expectations here. As an alumnus, there’s a high level of pride in the program and you want to sustain it and build on it. As you can see, we have a strong alumni network. These were two examples of how they gave back to the program.

“I hope our players pass that on and stay close to the program. Our non-conference schedule was a neat experience.”

The unbeatens

It’s always a nice accomplishment when a team still has a zero in the right-hand column of the standings after the ball drops in Times Square. As of Tuesday night, 18 Division III teams can make that claim.

Five on the men’s side: Marietta (12-0), Franklin and Marshall (11-0), Washington U. (11-0), Chapman (10-0) and Middlebury (9-0). Chapman and Middlebury are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, while the rest are ranked.

The women’s side has 13 perfect teams: North Central, Ill. (12-0), Montclair State (12-0), FDU-Florham (12-0), St. Thomas (11-0), George Fox (11-0), Washington U. (10-0), Whitworth (11-0), Calvin (10-0), NYU (10-0), Thomas More (10-0), McDaniel (9-0), Amherst (9-0),and Gettysburg (10-0). Centennial Conference foes McDaniel and Gettysburg are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

Green Terror(s)

Led by junior guard Lindsey Nichols, McDaniel is off to its best start in program history at 9-0. She was named the Centennial Conference (CC) Player of the Week for the third time this season Monday. Nichols led the Green Terror to a 71-50 win at Hollins on Saturday.

A business administration major, Nichols netted a game-high 23 points on 9 of 21 shooting. She also added four rebounds, two steals and an assist. For the season, her team-best 18.8 points per game ranks second in the conference. She is also second on the team with 20 steals and ranks fourth with 14 assists.

The Terror has been far from a one-woman show as junior forward Alyssa March posted consecutive and identical double-doubles in wins against Hood and Ursinus (12 points, 11 rebounds). March is averaging 8.6 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per outing while shooting 57.6 percent from the field. Senior guard Steph Perez is contributing 12.3 points per contest.

All nine of McDaniel’s wins have been by double digits. The Green Terror should get tested this week with road contests against Muhlenberg (Wednesday) and Haverford (Saturday).

Shoutouts

In a tribute to the late Staurt Scott, this area for this week only, the athletes and coach mentioned here was   “As Cool As The Other Side of the Pillow.”... Hardin-Simmons’ Derrick Jefferson posted the first triple-double in the 25 years Hardin-Simmons has been non-scholarship, with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Louisiana College. He had to slide over to the point position after starter Christian O'Neal was injured early in the loss to Texas Lutheran. Jefferson averaged 18.5 points and 8.5 assists while shooting 10-for-19 from the floor in two games for the 10-1 Cowboys. ... Middlebury’s Dylan Sinnickson is averaging 12.9 rebounds per game and has posted seven double-doubles for the 9-0 Panthers. ... Eastern Mennonite’s Jess Rheinheimer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ Kimberly Scamman each scored 41 points during games last week. ... FDU-Florham’s Leigh-Ann Lively set the all-time school record for 3-pointers. ... Franklin and Marshall head coach Glenn Robinson won his 881st career game, surpassing Dean Smith in the process. ... Gettysburg's Samantha Pagel scored 28 points to help the Bullets beat Neumann, 64-56, to win their tournament Monday night. ... Please send me submissions for this section at rob.knox@d3sports.com.

Back to the future

The Immaculata women’s basketball team got an opportunity few Division III student-athletes get: The Mighty Macs played Division II Queens College on Sunday morning as part of the Maggie Dixon Classic at historic Madison Square Garden. Immaculata and Queens were celebrating the anniversary of the first women’s game played at MSG.

The first collegiate women's basketball game at Madison Square Garden took place on Feb. 22, 1975 with the Mighty Macs topping the Knights 65-61 in front of a crowd of 11,969 fans. Sunday's game was also a rematch of the 1973 AIAW national championship game, which the Mighty Macs won, 59-52.

The major differences in this game from the original were there was modern technology as fans were able to follow live stats of the game and the teams wore shorts and shirts instead of wool dresses.

The 76-60 loss to Queens was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things for the Mighty Macs, who immediately bounced back the following day by defeating PSU-Harrisburg, 62-51. In the game against Queens, the Mighty Macs showed more balance than the current professional tenants, placing three players in double figures with Sara Smith leading the way with 15 points.

The Mighty Macs had a great experience at MSG and then had the opportunity to honor Maggie Dixon with a ceremony after the game along with Queens, St. John's, and the No. 2 University of Connecticut prior to St. John's and Connecticut playing in the second half of the doubleheader.

On Immaculata’s website, Smith reflected on the chance to play at Madison Square Garden: “It meant a lot. Growing up, a lot of kids dreamed about this and we luckily were able to do it.  It was kind of surreal.  When you step on the court and just look around, you just have to take it all in.  Again, we're just really grateful for this and for the former Mighty Macs and players of Queens College for giving us this opportunity…The whole time I was just taking it in because this is just awesome.”

This past summer, those historic and trailblazing Immaculata teams from the ’70s were inducted into the Basketball Hall of fame. Think about it, without Immaculata, there may not be a University of Connecticut dynasty or a FDU-Florham 43-game winning streak, etc.

Purple reign

Mount Union returns to action Wednesday night when it visits Heidelberg. The Purple Raiders ended 2014 by winning seven of their last eight games.

The balanced Purple Raiders are 8-3 overall and have four players averaging double figure points on the season. DeAllen Jackson leads the team with a 13.2 point per game average. He has scored in double figures seven times this season, including a career-high 21 points against Otterbein.

Nate Jacubec and Jarrett Ruffin both are averaging 11.4 points and Ruffin leads the team with 5.0 rebounds per game. Cody Dillon rounds out the Raiders’ double-figure scorers with 10.4 per game.

Mount Union is currently second in the conference in scoring (83.3 points per game) and fourth in the conference in scoring defense (69.9). Heidelberg scores 77.1 points per game but allows its opponents to score over 78 points per game.

Helping their scoring average was Mount Union’s last game, a 103-89 victory on Dec. 28 in which six players reached double figures led by Dillon’s 19. Jackson added 18 points and Taylor Moore added a season-high 16 points off the bench.

The Purple Raiders also made 15 3-pointers. In their last two games, Mount Union has made 29 3-pointers, an average of 14.5 per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the field in each contest. The Purple Raiders have made double-digit 3-pointers five times this season.

Mount Union's 103 points was the most for the Raiders since scoring 113 points last Feb. 12 against Muskingum.