FREDERICK, Md. - An impressive second half by the Hood College men's basketball team allowed the Blazers to pull away for a 68-51 win over Goucher in the opener of the MMI Tip Off Tournament. 

Inside the Box Score

• Trumaine Strickland (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 field goals. 
• Garrison Linton (New Market, Md./Oakdale) finished with 12 points, connecting on 4-of-8, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. 
• Christopher Smalls (Washington, D.C./St. Andrew's Episcopal) was 6-for-6 at the free throw line and ended the evening with 11 points. 
• Soren Almquist (Oakton, Va./James Madison) led Hood with eight rebounds, while Strickland, Linton and Smalls added six apiece. 

How it Happened

• Back-to-back field goals by Jevon Yarbrough (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport) gave the Blazers a 12-5 lead with 12:07 to go in the first half as both teams got off to a slow start shooting the ball. 
• Goucher outscored the Blazers 16-7 over the next nine minutes, going ahead 22-19 after Octavius Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to make it 22-19. 
• Ryan Hollwedel (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) came up with a steal and found Linton open for three with 2:39 to go to tie the game at 22-22. A 3-pointer from Jared Young (York, Pa./Episcopal (Va.)) gave Hood a 25-22 lead on the Blazers' next possession. 
• The Gophers, who trailed 26-23 at the half, pulled within 28-27 in the opening minutes of the second half on a fastbreak bucket by Jacob Morgan but 3-pointers by Strickland and Hollwedel stretched Hood's lead back to seven. 
• After Goucher cut the Blazers' advantage to two, Linton scored five straight points and a 3-pointer from Almquist made it a 10-point lead 42-32 with 13:38 to play. The stretch kicked off a 25-9 run for Hood that resulted in a 59-41 lead after a layup from Strickland with 5:27 left. 

Analysis

• The Blazers rebounded from 32 percent in the first half, including 4-for-17 from 3-point range by hitting 46 percent in the second half, aided by a 6-for-15 mark from behind the arc. 
• Defensively, Hood limited the Gophers to only 29 percent shooting on the night and 4-for-21 on 3-point attempts. 
• Hood outrebounded Goucher 45-37. 

For the Opponent

• Morgan was the only Gopher to reach double figures with 12 points. 

Up Next
Hood will face Randolph-Macon, ranked No. 1 in Division III, on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the MMI Tip Off Tournament Championship. The Yellow Jackets defeated Mary Baldwin University 71-49 in the other first-round contest. MBU and Goucher play the consolation game at 1 p.m.