FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's basketball team's offense was firing on all cylinders, as the Blazers tied the team record of 21 three-pointers made en route to a 94-62 thrashing of Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent Messiah University.
Inside the Box Score
Garrett Cox (Glen Allen, VA/Glen Allen) and
Justin Gielen (Edgewater, Md./DeMatha) both finished with 18 points, with Cox shooting 86 percent from the field, missing just one shot and going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc.
Troy Fulton (Denver, N.C./Lincoln Charter School) finished the afternoon with 12 points, shooting 57 percent with all seven shots coming from long range.
Garrison Linton (New Market, Md./Oakdale) ended the game with 10 points and dishing out seven assists.
How it Happened
After starting the game off with an 8-0 run, Hood continued to flirt with an eight-point lead as both squads traded baskets for until just about halfway through the first half when a three-pointer from Cox gave the Blazers their first double-digit lead of the game.
Hood continued to put on the offensive pressure, draining shot-after-shot for a 17-9 run through the majority of the second half, extending their lead to 20 points and going into halftime with a 49-27 advantage.
The Blazers picked up right where they left off coming out for the second half, sinking four straight three-pointers and starting the period off with an 18-4 run over 4:33.
Messiah managed to find an offensive footing following Hood, going on a 13-2 run of their own over the next 3:13, but Gielen put a stop to their rush with back-to-back layups.
A layup from Cox and a dunk from
Ryan Hollwedel (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) on a rush after a steal pushed the Blazers lead to 30, the offense outshot a final push from the Falcons offense to keep that margin as the buzzer sounded with a final score of 94-62.
For the Opponent
Johnny McBride closed out the afternoon with 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, nicely shooting 6-9 from the field.
Cole Fisher led Messiah with 17 points.
Analysis
Hood shot 46 percent from the field, and 43 percent from three-point range, with Messiah shooting just 33 percent from the field and 27 percent from three-point range.
The Falcons outrebounded the Blazers 47-41.
Hood's bench outscored Messiah's 39-27.
Notes
"We recruit skilled guys that can shoot the three, then we force opponents to pick their poison with what they're gonna try to stop. We have the ability to get to the basket if you take away the three, and vice versa... When we shoot the three well, we're tough to beat, so that gave us a nice cushion to work with most of the game," said coach
Chad Dickman after the game.
The Blazers improve to 15-3 (7-1), while the Falcons drop to 4-15 (0-8).
Up Next
Hood travels to Reading, Pennsylvania for a conference matchup against Albright College Wednesday, January 31 at 7 p.m.
