SALEM, Va. – Guilford College's Matt McCarthy made six three-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points in the Quakers' 66-59 win over Hampden-Sydney in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament quarterfinal Thursday night in the Salem Civic Center.
The victory sends the third-seeded Quakers (18-8) into a tournament semifinal contest with second-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College (22-4) Saturday (2/28) at 3:00 p.m. The Marlins, ranked 10th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, defeated Washington and Lee University Thursday, 81-53.
Guilford closed the first half on a 15-4 run to take a 27-16 halftime lead. The Quakers made seven-of-14 three-pointers, three by McCarthy. Named the league's player of the year the night before, McCarthy's long-distance accuracy carried into the second half with three more triples that opened a 42-19 Guilford lead with 16:13 left in regulation.
Hampden-Sydney (16-11) employed a full-court press to disrupt the Quakers' offense and get back into the game. A 12-2 Tigers' spurt rallied Hampden-Sydney to within 57-49 with 4:56 remaining. Jake Duncan scored seven of his eight points during the run. Both squads struggled to make field goals in the game's waning moments, but Guilford preserved the victory by converting seven-of-10 free throws in the final two minutes.
McCarthy scored 14 second-half points and clinched his ninth 20-point game of the year. Teammate Jonny Rice added 13 points, nine in the second half, and seven rebounds. Trever Hyatt finished with 10. Point guard Zachary Houston scored just one point, but collected a career-best 11 rebounds and five assists, both game highs. Guilford made 11-of-22 three-pointers in the game.
Leon Hargrove's 13 points off the bench topped Hampden-Sydney. Mike Murray had 10 points and six rebounds. Greg Lewis finished with nine on three three-pointers.
Coach Tom Palombo's club will be making its first ODAC Tournament semifinal appearance since winning the tourney in 2010.