December 29, 2006
Hamilton Holds Off Haverford, 60-51
TAMPA, FL – Hamilton College defeated Haverford
College 60-51 in the first day of action at the 2006 Tampa Shootout
Friday evening. Senior co-captain forward Ray Brown paced the
Fords with a team-high 13 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Brown gave the Fords an early 4-2 lead three minutes into the
game, which was followed by a driving lay up and by sophomore
guard Chaz Thomas. Thomas was fouled on the shot, and converted
the three-point play to give the Fords a 7-2 lead. Thomas added
another two points on a fast break lay up, to give Haverford a
9-2 edge a quarter of the way into the first half. The Continentals
charged back to tie the game over the next 3:53, going on a 9-2
run to knot the game at 11 a piece. Since taking the lead early
in the contest, Haverford did not give the edge back to Hamilton,
and took a 28-24 lead into the locker room at the half time break.
Sophomore guard David Nowacki led all scorers with ten points
on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor in the half.
The Continentals came out hot in the second half and took a 34-32
lead less than three minutes into the period. Hamilton increased
its lead to as many as five at 39-34 before Brown scored three
consecutive points to pull Haverford within two points at 39-37
with 11:35 remaining. The Continentals went on a 10-2 run over
the next five and a half minutes, giving Hamilton its largest
lead of the game, 49-39. A three-point basket by senior guard
Mike Fratangelo and a lay up by Brown got the Fords back into
the game at 49-44 with four minutes to go. Hamilton’s full-court
press and consistent conversion of free throws was enough to hold
off a late Haverford rally, as the Continental’s cruised
the rest of the way for the 60-51 win.
The Continentals outscored the Fords 36-23 in the second half.
Both teams matched up closely statistically, as Haverford shot
39% from the field and pulled down 31 rebounds, while Hamilton
shot 40% and grabbed 34 rebounds in the contest.
Nowacki had 12 points, six rebounds and a game-high three steals
for Haverford in the loss. Sophomore forward Ben McDowell and
Thomas also contributed seven points.
Tsakani Ngobeni led all players with 15 points and eight rebounds
for Hamilton in the win. Giorgi Chavelishvili also had 12 points
and eight rebounds for Hamilton.
Haverford (2-7 overall) will play at 1:00 p.m.
Saturday in the consolation game of the Tampa Shootout against
the University of Dallas. Box Score
