LYNCHBURG, Va. — The Hornets lost 79-80 to Roanoke in a game that featured 13 lead changes, six ties and a buzzer-beater.
Michael Gray continued his recent form with a team-high 19 points. Freshman forward JaMarcus Brown scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from deep.
The Hornets came out with a stout, physical defense from the tip. Lynchburg held the Maroons to nine points in the first 12 minutes, giving the Hornets an early 10-point advantage. Despite this, Roanoke regained momentum and was once again in the lead, going into intermission with a three-point lead.
In the second half, both teams began exchanging punches. Lynchburg and Roanoke traded the lead back and forth for the first 15 minutes. Once the Hornets took the lead with five minutes left, they started stringing together stops on the defensive end. As a result, Lynchburg’s lead quickly grew to 11 points with 45.6 seconds left.
But the Maroons refused to leave. Roanoke kept fighting and cut the lead to four points with 20 seconds left. Then it went to 2 in 12 seconds. Trailing by two points with six seconds left, the Maroons criss-crossed the court and fired the ball to sophomore guard Jackson Bell, who sank the game-winning 3.
The Hornets lost their second consecutive home game, dropping to 9-6 on the season. Lynchburg returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 18, in Virginia Beach against the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins.
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–Rin–
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