ANNVILLE, Pa. - Hood College's Cameron Cook (Baltimore, Md. / Calvert Hall) led the Blazers with 23 points, none bigger than the final two free throws with 4.1 seconds to go for a 62-61 win at Lebanon Valley in Commonwealth Conference action.
The senior became the third player in school history to surpass 1,400 career points in the game and sits just one point behind second place with 1,419 points. He finished 8-of-18 shooting and added five 3-point field goals to his career mark of 273, the most by an active Division III player.
With the win, the Blazers have won four in a row and nine of their last 10.
Hood (12-4, 6-3) trailed by four, 60-56, after a jumper by Kevin Agnew with 4:21 to play, but the Blazers turned up the defense and held the Dutchmen without a field goal over the remainder of the contest.
Justin Bowens (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) made a layup with with 4:08 to go to make it a two-point game before LVC's last score of the night, a free throw by Luke Berguson, made it 61-58 just 20 seconds later. With 1:55 remaining Bowens was fouled and sank both free throws to bring Hood within a single point of the lead.
Lebanon Valley would turn the ball over with 20 seconds on the clock, still leading 61-60. Matt Galloway (Sterling, Va. / Potomac Falls) missed a three with five seconds left and Cook hauled in the offensive rebounds and drew the foul to set up his game-winning free throws.
It was an exciting end for a game that featured seven ties and eight lead changes.
Hood's biggest lead of the game came with a game-opening 13-6 run, fueled by seven points from Cook and five by Galloway. The Dutchmen turned in a matching 13-6 spurt, with a Berguson foul shot knotting the score at 19-19 with 5:51 to go in the first half.
The Blazers trailed 31-28 at the half, despite 15 points from Cook.
Berguson gave Lebanon Valley its biggest lead of the night, 43-35, with 13:56 to play before Hood made a run. A 3-pointer by Galloway brought the Blazers all the way back and capped a 13-5 run that tied the score at 48-48 with 9:57 left in the game.
In addition to his scoring efforts, Cook led the Blazers with nine rebounds and four steals. Bowens scored 11 of his 12 in the second half. The senior guard was 3-of-5 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line. Galloway finished with 10 points.
Kevin Agnew played all 40 minutes in the loss for the Dutchmen and led all players with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting with six 3-point field goals. He added a game-high seven assists on the night. Berguson sank 5-of-8 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws to finish with 16 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Both teams went 11-of-15 from the charity stripe (73 percent).
It was Hood's second straight win in the final five seconds and third of the season. On New Year's Eve, Cook had a put back with 3.3 seconds left for a 72-70 win over Geneva in Miami. This past Saturday (January 18), Chris Cook (Mechanicsville, Va. / Lee-Davis) sank a 25-footer to beat Widener 92-89 with 1.7 on the clock.
The Blazers return home to face Messiah on January 25 at BB&T Arena. Tip off is set for 3 p.m.