FREDERICK, Md. - Hood College scored 30 points at the free throw line in a 74-68 victory over Messiah on Senior Day at BB&T Arena.
The win was the Blazers' fifth in a row and improved the team to 14-11 overall and 10-6 in the Commonwealth Conference. Hood, Stevenson, Alvernia and Arcadia all finished the year tied for second in the league with identical 10-6 marks. By virtue of numerous tie breakers, the Blazers were awarded the third seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. Hood will travel to second-seeded Stevenson on Wednesday, February 25 at 8 p.m.
The Blazers honored their three seniors, Terell Buyck (Forestville, Md. / Bishop McNamara), Chris Cook (Mechanicsville, Va. / Lee-Davis) and Reggie Daniels(Abingdon, Md. / Patterson Mill) during a pregame ceremony and came out firing.
Messiah's Micah Brown scored to make it 13-12 in favor of Hood with 12 minutes left in the first half, but James Brown (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Country Day) converted a three-point play at the other end to start a 15-0 run. Buyck scored nine points over the next three and a half minutes as the Blazers took a 28-12 lead with 8:36 on the clock.
Buyck was excellent in the first half, scoring 17 of his 19 points in the opening 20 minutes, leading Hood to a 39-21 halftime lead. The senior was a perfect 8-of-8 as Hood went 15-of-17 as a team in the half.
In the second half, the Blazers went cold and the Falcons heated up behind the play of David Fernandez. The senior scored all 10 of his points in the final 20 minutes to finish off a triple-double with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
Messiah opened the half with a 13-4 run to cut the Hood lead to single digits. The Blazers eventually stretched it back to a 16-point advantage, 56-40, after a bucket by Buyck with under 11 minutes to go.
The Falcons were not done yet, and eventually whittled their deficit to three, 61-58, after a free throw by Jimmy Bracket with 3:23 remaining. Cook scored seven points during a 9-2 run that followed, including a three-point play to give Hood a 70-60 advantage with 1:09 to go.
The Blazers went 30-of-37 at the foul line in the contest (81 percent). Messiah, meanwhile, attempted just 15 free throws in the game, making 11 (73 percent).
In addition to Buyck's 19 points, Cook added 18 and Davon Hill (Clinton, Md. / Potomac School) scored 15. Cook hit 8-of-9 free throws in the game and had three steals. Hill had a team-high five assists. Daniels grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Fernandez hit 4-of-7 field goals in the game for Messiah, who was led in scoring by a pair of reserves. Brown came off the bench for 16 points, while Bracket scored 13.
Hood turned 16 Falcon turnovers into 22 points.
With 14 wins, it marks the eighth time in the last nine years that the Blazers have won at least that many games.