BETHANY, W.Va. - An 18-3 run early in the second half broke open a two-point game as Hood reached its season-high in scoring during the Blazers' 103-75 win over Waynesburg in the ECAC Southwest Semifinals.
With the win, second-seeded Hood (18-10) face fourth-seeded Juniata in the finals. The Eagles upset the No. 1 seed and tournament hosts Bethany College, 78-59, in the other semfinal.
The Blazers hit 8-of-11 3-point field goals in the second half (73 percent) and shot 60 percent overall in the final 20 minutes. Hood finished the game 13-of-24 from beyond the arc (54 percent).
Five Blazers scored in double figures as the team scored its most points since 2011. Reggie Daniels (Abingdon, Md. / Patterson Mill), Cade Woody (Damascus, Md. / Damascus), and Trevor Magnuski (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) each had career-highs in points on the night. Daniels scored 11 of his 17 in the first half and sank 8-of-11 field goals. He also had eight rebounds and four blocks in the contest. Woody went 4-of-7 from 3-point range on his way to a dozen points. Magnuski shot 5-of-8 to reach 10 points for the first time in his career.
Cameron Cook (Baltimore, Md. / Calvert Hall) connected on 4-of-7 from outside the 3-point line and went 6-of-12 overall on his way to a game-high 18 points. The tally pulled him within three points of Hood's career scoring record with 1,630 points. He also set the new single season record for the Blazers with 94 made threes. He is chasing Santo Provenzano's record of 1,633 set from 2003-06. The senior filled up the box score, adding five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Matt Galloway (Sterling, Va. / Potomac Falls) had a perfect evening from the floor, connecting on all five of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers. The effort helped Hood to a 50 percent shooting night.
The Blazers led by just a field goal, 45-43, after a 6-0 Waynesburg (15-13) run to open the second half. Daniels hit a turn around jumper to start the game-changing run that resulted in a 63-46 lead with 16:40 remaining after back-to-back threes by Woody. Hood had four steals during the run and Waynesburg attempted just three shots during the stretch.
After a bucket by BJ Durham broke the run, Woody sank another three and the Yellow Jackets never pulled closer than 14 the rest of the way. Cook hit a three with 3:30 to go to give the Blue and Grey their biggest lead of the night, 98-68.
Hood's full-court pressure caused problems for Waynesburg throughout the second half as the Blazers had nine steals on 10 Yellow Jacket turnovers in the period. For the game, Hood had 15 steals on 17 Waynesburg miscues.
In the first half, Daniels and Davon Hill (Clinton, Md. / Potomac School) led the Blazers to a 45-37 lead. Hill scored all nine of his points in the opening 20 minutes.
The pressure also kept the Waynesburg starting five off-balance at the offensive end, as the group combined to hit just 11-of-33 field goals. Reserve Christian Koroly hit four threes to become the only Yellow Jacket to reach double figures with 12 points.
The Blazers hit 16-of-19 free throws (84 percent) and outrebounded Waynesburg 44-41.
Chris Cook (Mechanicsburg, Va. / Lee-Davis) dished out four of the team's 20 assists.
Hood extended its season records to 249 made 3-point field goals and 261 steals. The Blazers' 18 wins are the second-best total in program history.