| Hampden-Sydney athletics file photo |
Harrison George can remember back to his high school days in North Carolina when he used to hit the local gyms to play basketball.
As a standout at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, George was tested not only during the season, but those offseason pick-up games proved beneficial as well to his growth as a player.
“It was a big help because I was competing against other high school players and college players,” George said. “Those games were always competitive and the experience made me a better player.”
George has indeed turned into quite a player at the Division III level where he has emerged as a star at Hampden-Sydney, which was ranked No. 25 in the country entering the season.
The Tigers are 3-1 entering the final week of November and George has played a key role in the strong start. The 20-point effort against Emory and Henry in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener on Saturday has been the highlight performance for him for the season up to this point.
The two-time All-ODAC selection from a year ago is averaging 16.3 points per game and grabbing four rebounds per contest while shooting 59.2 percent from the field. He has also blocked six shots.
“I worked a lot on my shooting over the summer, especially off the dribble, and the work is paying off,” said George, who entered the year 11th on the all-time scoring list at the school with 1,355 points.
But he won’t take all of the credit. Selfish isn’t in the vocabulary of the 6-5, 230-pound forward who became the first player in program history to be named the ODAC Rookie of the Year in 2010. George was a preseason D3hoops.com All-American this year.
“My teammates and my coaches have played a big part in my success,” George said. “They have all helped me become the player I am now and have put me in a position to be successful. We have a very unselfish team and we all play really well together.”
Hampden-Sydney is averaging 90.5 points per game and two other players, Khobi Williamson (12.8) and Cam Anderson (12.8) are scoring in double figures.
Yet, the success of the Tigers goes beyond scoring points thanks to a balanced attack and a shooting percentage of 56.4.
Hampden-Sydney has been playing hard on the defensive end of the floor as well, allowing 68.2 points per game and holding opponents to 41.8 percent shooting.
“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on defense because we know that is going to give us a chance to win a lot of games,” George said. “We want to make it tough for teams to shoot the ball well against us and we will continue to work hard on defense.”
What George has done off the court is impressive as well. He is a solid student in the classroom, having learned to balance academics with athletics, and he has also done his best to be a leader on a team that has eight players who are either freshmen or sophomores.
“When I first came here, the older players were a big help to me, and once I became a sophomore, I started being a leader,” George said. “I’ve taken them under my wing and have helped them out on and off the court.”
The Tigers fell short of a trip to the NCAA tournament a year ago, letting a nine-point lead slip away against top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Tigers lost the game 67-65 and are driven to make up for that shortcoming this year.
“We want to compete for a conference championship and go to the tournament, but we can’t worry about looking ahead,” George said. “We have to focus on one game at a time and know that if we do our job, everything else will take care of itself.”
Top 25 Notes
Men: After a nine-day layoff, No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan held off Methodist 67-59 on Monday night. The Marlins (3-0) shot only 30.3 percent from the field. DJ Woodmore led the way in the win with 16 points. ... Jake Mays came through with his second consecutive double-double to help No. 16 College of Wooster knock off Oberlin 74-66 on Sunday night. Mays scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Fighting Scots, who are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. ... Nate Snuggerud and Chase DeMaagd scored 15 points apiece to lead 19th-ranked Hope to a 66-63 win over Aquinas in the final game of the Hope Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen are 2-2 on the year. ... No. 20 Adrian is off to its best start since 2000-01 after knocking off Michigan-Dearborn 67-42 on Monday. Eric Lewis scored 23 and has scored in double figures in every game for the Bulldogs (5-0). Adrian started 7-0 12 years ago.
Women: Top-ranked DePauw knocked off defending national champion Illinois Wesleyan on Sunday to win the Frontier Communications/Titan Tournament title. It was the Tigers’ second consecutive win over a top-ranked team as they surged to 5-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign. Alex Gasaway led DePauw with 19 points. ... Rosa LaMattina scored 17 points and came up with five steals to lead No. 2 Mount Union to a 72-56 win over Waynesburg on Saturday. The Purple Raiders have won their last 27 non-conference games. ... Carissa Verkaik poured in 20 points to go along with six rebounds and five blocks as she led No. 4 Calvin to a 76-48 win over Centre College in the finale of the Julie Costello Memorial Classic on Saturday. Verkaik earned a spot on the all-tournament team for her effort. ... Brian Morehouse, the head coach of No. 9 Hope, won his 400th game at the school last Tuesday as the Flying Dutch knocked off Defiance 52-46. Morehouse is 400-68 in 17 seasons at the school and his winning percentage of 83 percent is second among active NCAA Division III coaches…Allison Long torched Capital for 26 points as No. 13 Thomas More (4-1) edged Capital 58-55 at the Julie Costello Memorial Classic on Saturday. Long earned a spot on the all-tournament team. ... No. 24 Ohio Northern improved to 4-1 with a 77-62 win over Saint Mary’s (Ind.) in the Saint Mary’s Thanksgiving Classic. Katie Mengos came through with a career-high 20 points to pace the Polar Bears.
American Southwest Conference
The Texas-Dallas men’s basketball team is unbeaten through three games after knocking off Ozarks 72-53 in the conference opener for both teams.
The Comets drilled 10 shots from beyond the arc in the victory, including three by Ryan Smith, and have shot 40 percent or better from the field in all three of their wins.
Nolan Harvey paced the offensive attack with 15 points and Carter Nash scored 14 points. Smith and Reese Dahse clicked for 13 points apiece. Nash is the leading scorer on the team, clicking for 21.3 points per game.
The Comets have capitalized on sharp 3-point shooting early, nailing 23 treys in three games while holding opponents to just six treys. They are shooting 42.6 percent from the floor and have been solid defensively as well, giving up just 56.3 ppg.
Great South Athletic Conference
Jessie Blankenship of the Covenant women’s basketball team continued her strong start to the season as she turned in her third consecutive double-double in the Lady Scots’ 77-75 win over Millsaps last Tuesday.
Kiaira Cooper hit the game-winning shot with two seconds left to push the Lady Scots to 3-0 on the year. She scored a season-high 18 points in the win.
Blankenship scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and has scored at least 14 points in all three of her games. She is averaging 18.7 points per outing and pulling down 11.3 rebounds per game. Blankenship is shooting 60.5 percent from the floor and has dished out 10 assists as well.
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Calvin men’s basketball team won the Grand Rapids Hall of Fame Classic for the first time since 2010 after knocking off Cornerstone 70-65 on Saturday.
Jordan Brink was named the MVP of the tournament and scored 14 points for the Knights, who are 5-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign. Brink hit all eight of his shots from the free-throw line and is averaging 10.6 points per game this season.
Sydney Spragg and Megan Loveberry turned in strong performances to help the Trine women’s basketball team improve to 3-1 with a 63-59 win over Anderson.
Spragg poured in 19 points and also tallied nine rebounds, four steals and three assists while Loveberry drilled four 3-pointers and clicked for 18 points. She also pulled down four rebounds.
North Coast Athletic Conference
Four starters graduated from the Wittenberg men’s basketball team, but it hasn’t slowed down the Tigers yet this season.
Wittenberg, which advanced to the Elite Eight a year ago, knocked off Capital 66-54 last Tuesday and improved to 3-0.
Sam Collins, who is averaging a team-best 13.3 points per outing, scored 14 points to pace the Tigers, who once again played stellar defense, limiting Capital to 31 percent shooting.
The Tigers have not allowed an opponent to score more than 54 points in a game and are allowing teams to shoot just 35 percent from the field against them.
Slowing down the Denison women’s basketball team has not been easy as the Big Red won its fourth consecutive game on Sunday with a 72-59 win over Case Western Reserve.
The Big Red is 4-1 after opening the season with a setback to Hope and the latest victory was fueled by the play of Serafina Nuzzo, who tied her career high with 23 points. Nuzzo drilled three treys and also tallied four rebounds, four assists and two steals. She is averaging 17.2 points per game.
Denison shot 48 percent from the field and limited Case Western Reserve to 37.5 percent shooting.
Ohio Athletic Conference
Branden Rushton has stepped up for the Ohio Northern men’s basketball team, averaging 21.3 points per outing in three games during the week of Thanksgiving. His 24 points in wins over Alma and Finlandia helped the Polar Bears (4-1) win the Alma Thanksgiving Classic.
Rushton is averaging 18.4 points per game on the year and is shooting 56.7 percent from the floor. He is one of five players scoring at least 10 points per outing for Ohio Northern, which averages 80.2 points per contest.
The Baldwin Wallace women’s basketball team improved to 3-1 after knocking off Wittenberg 66-55 on Monday night.
Audrey Smolik came through with a solid performance, scoring 16 points to pace the Yellow Jackets. Jessica Lairson added 13 points on a night when Baldwin Wallace shot 40 percent from the floor and scored 21 points off of turnovers.
Smolik is averaging 7.5 points per outing. Baldwin Wallace is averaging 69.5 points per outing and allowing 62.8.
Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Defense was the name of the game for the Thomas More men’s basketball team in its 83-73 win over Wilmington on Sunday.
The Saints forced 30 turnovers and scored 39 points off of those miscues as they improved to 5-0.
D’Carlo Hayes fueled the offensive attack as he poured in 15 points. Spencer Berlekamp and Josef Marshall scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Saints are averaging 85.2 points per outing and holding opponents to 66.4 points per outing. Hayes is averaging 13 points per game this season.
The Washington and Jefferson’s women’s basketball team had its unbeaten streak end Saturday in an 83-70 loss to LaRoche.
Turnovers doomed the Presidents. They turned the ball over 28 times and those mistakes led to 31 points for the Redhawks.
Despite the loss, Chelsea Apke came through with a big game. She scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds and tallied five steals. Apke is clicking for 16.3 points per outing and has led the Presidents (3-1) in scoring three times. She has also led the team in rebounding twice and is pulling down 9.3 rebounds per game.
Southern Athletic Association
For the first time since 1998, the Oglethorpe men’s basketball team is 4-0. The Stormy Petrels knocked off LaGrange 91-83 on Sunday at their Thanksgiving Classic to cap the tourney without a loss.
They opened the game on a 24-8 run and shot 62 percent from the field in the opening half before finishing the night shooting 52.6 percent from the floor.
Christian Molinet delivered with an all-around stellar performance. He scored 15 points to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. Brendan Jovaag led the Petrels with 16 points, including 12 from beyond the arc. Oglethorpe was solid on defense as well as it limited the Panthers to 36.2 percent shooting from the field.
Thanks to its first ever road win over Mississippi College, the Rhodes women’s basketball team is still unbeaten as it knocked off the Choctaws 64-55 last Tuesday to push its record to 3-0.
The Lynx has won its last two games against Mississippi College and it got the job done this time around behind a strong effort by Lauren Avant, who poured in 22 points. Sarah Johnson did her part as well by scoring 15 points and Madison Butler knocked down four treys en route to scoring 12.
The Lynx hit 11 treys in all and came up big defensively by forcing 26 turnovers.
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