February 7, 2008

Boxscore

LAURINBURG, N.C.—Senior Bradley Hippolyte (Brooklyn, N.C.) hit a three-pointer with 48 seconds left to give host St. Andrews Presbyterian College a slim one-point lead but a junior Jonathan Jackson (Ahoskie, N.C.) jumper on the next possession catapulted visiting Belmont Abbey College to a 76-72 Conference Carolinas men’s basketball victory on Thursday night in Harris Court.

Jackson scored a game-high 22 points helping the Crusaders improve to 13-9 overall and 11-4 in the league. Hippolyte had a team-high 17 points for the Knights, who fell to 5-16 and 4-10.

St. Andrews held a slim single-digit lead for most of the second half until a Jackson basket in the final 90 seconds gave the visitors a two-point lead. However, Hippolyte’s three-pointer on a nice kick-out pass by junior Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, N.C.) put the Knights back on top, 72-71, with 48 ticks left.

Jackson answered Hippolyte’s shot with a beautiful spinning jumper on the right wing to propel the Abbey back into the lead for good. Hippolyte tried to respond back but was fouled driving the lane with 10.1 seconds showing on the clock. After a delay due to a Crusader fouling out, both of Hippolyte’s potential tying free throw just missed their marks forcing St. Andrews to foul. Belmont Abbey then pulled out to their final four-point margin of victory by hitting three free throws.

Both teams shot well with St. Andrews connecting on 28-of-47 (59.6%) attempts and the Crusaders making 25-of-48 (52.1%). The Knights hit more three-pointers, 9-to-4, but the Abbey won the game from the free throw line. The Crusaders, who lead the conference in free throw percentage, swished 22 of their 25 attempts from the charity stripe at 88.0% precision. SAPC only went to the line 10 times making seven.

Jackson led four Crusaders in double digits with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Senior Ric Marczenko (Victoria, Australia) sizzled the nets on 6-of-7 aim for 17 points while both freshman Richard Barbee (Virginia Beach, Va.) and sophomore Chad Patus (Welland, Ontario, Canada) registered 13 points. Patus helped Belmont Abbey win the battle of the boards, 25-20, with a game-high seven rebounds.

Hippolyte scored his team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 accuracy including a perfect 2-for-2 from long distance. Sophomore Ron Deas (Clayton, N.C.) and freshman Zack Garst (Huntersville, N.C.) tallied 10 points apiece while Gripper and junior Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) each had nine. Senior Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore Colby Poe (Bennettsville, S.C.) added eight and seven points, respectively. Hippolyte handed out a game-high five assists.

A pair of Marczenko made free throws gave Belmont Abbey the largest lead of the game, 35-27, with 3:43 to go in the first half but St. Andrews finished the half on an 8-2 run. Deas scored four of the eight points in the rally while a Hoke hoop as time expired pulled the Knights within two, 39-37, at halftime.

The two teams battled closely for most of the second half with the game featuring 13 lead changes and eight ties. A Poe 3-pointer at the midway point of the final stanza gave the Knights the lead for the next eight and a half minutes until back-to-back baskets by Jackson under the two minute mark started the late game battle.

St. Andrews next visits league foe Anderson University (Anderson, S.C.) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. while Belmont Abbey entertains conference rival Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.