NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Hood College's Reggie Daniels (Abingdon, Md. / Patterson Mill) blocked the most shots by a Blazer in nearly eight years to help the Blazers to a 70-62 win in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Captains Shootout at Christopher Newport.
The senior's six rejections were a career-high and the most since Jesse Gutekunst set the school record with 12 blocks in January 2007. Daniels was 3-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-3 on 3-point field goals, and had nine points and three steals.
Offensively, Hood shot 53 percent from 3-point range and made over twice as many free throws as Worcester State attempted. The Blazers knocked down 9-of-17 threes in the game for their best success rate of the season. Hood went 21-of-30 from the free throw line, while the Lancers were awarded just nine foul shots and made only five.
Chris Cook (Mechanicsville, Va. / Lee-Davis) continued his excellent play, scoring a game-high 27 points. The senior guard sank 6-of-11 field goals, and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 11-of-12 at the line. He added a team-high four steals.
Terell Buyck (Forestville, Md. / Bishop McNamara) was 4-of-8 shooting on his way to a dozen points. Davon Hill's (Clinton, Md. / Potomac School) led the team with seven rebounds and six assists. The junior tied his career-high in rebounds and set a new personal best in assists.
A much taller Worcester State team grabbed 52 rebounds in the game, but the Blazer defense turned in its best field goal defense of the year. Hood limited the Lancers to just 35 percent shooting in the contest.
The game was a back-and-forth affair that featured 20 ties or lead changes before the Blazers went on a 14-5 run over the game's final five minutes. Worcester State took a 57-56 lead with five minutes left on a dunk by Paul Brooks. A steal by Daniels resulted in a Cook layup for the lead with 4:21 on the clock. The teams traded possessions before Daniels hit his second three of the night for a 61-57 lead.
After Hood stretched the advantage to 65-57 with 58 seconds left, Connor Deegan hit a 3-point field goal. Ryan DiBernardo came up with a steal and a quick two by Jeremy Bacon chipped the Blazers' lead to just three points with 39 seconds remaining.
The Lancers were forced to foul and Cook and Hill combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws to ice the game.
The teams were tied at 33-33 at halftime, before the squads exchanged runs to start the second half. Hood scored the first five points after play resumed, followed by seven straight points by Worcester State.
James Brown (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Country Day) and Tanner Ruths (Stephens City, Va. / Sherando) both scored eight points off the bench for the Blazers. Brown blocked two shots.
Brendan Rios scored 17 points for the Lancers, but was just 6-of-22 from the fied and 5-of-16 from behind the arc. Brooks, a 6-foot-9 center, had a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds, but was only 6-of-13 shooting. Dibernardo added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and Bacon grabbed 10 rebounds.
With the win, Hood (4-5) plays the winner of the Christopher Newport/Otterbein semifinal in the championship game at 6 p.m. on December 30.