HAMPDEN-SYDNEY — A Khobi Williamson (Norfolk/Maury) 10-foot, left baseline jumper rimmed in and out at the buzzer as #5 Williams hung on to beat H-SC Hoops 70-68 Thursday night.

Hampden-Sydney took the advantage in the early going. Williamson didn't take long to produce a highlight play as Fletcher Lumpkin (Richmond/Mills Godwin) dove for a loose ball and got the ball to Williamson who was open in the paint for a dunk. Daniel Wohl tied the game on a layup, but the Tigers scored the next six to go ahead 8-2 at the 16:20 mark. The Tigers continued to lead until Taylor Epley caught fire, draining back-to-back three pointers to give Williams their first lead, 18-17, just under nine minutes in.

Sasha Obradovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Hawaii Prep) briefly put the Tigers back ahead 21-20, but four consecutive three-point plays and a free throw got Williams rolling out to a 33-21 advantage with under five minutes to go. Greg Lewis (Mechanicsville/Hanover) ended the run with a three-pointer and a Keegan Wetzel (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance) layup and free throw swung momentum back in favor of H-SC as they trailed by six, 33-27, with 3:53 to go. The teams proceeded to record three straight dunks, two coming off Wohl overplaying the passing lane leading to a run out jam. Hampden-Sydney closed out the half on a strong note as Mitch Owens (Williamsburg/Walsingham) and Mike Murray (Norfolk/Norfolk Christian) had consecutive layups to make it a 37-33 Williams lead at intermission.

Hampden-Sydney started of the second stanza much the same way as the first. Williamson got the first basket while Michael Mayer negated it, but a Murray jumper and a Lewis triple put Hampden-Sydney on top 40-39 at 17:26. Williams replied with a 7-0 run to go back ahead 46-40 three minutes later. The Hampden-Sydney defense went in lockdown mode after that. The Tigers put Williams on the ropes with an 18-2 lead from 14:39 to 7:04. In that stretch, Williams shot 1-9 with five turnovers. Following a timeout, the Williams offense woke up. They scored 10 of the next 12 points to trail just 60-58 with 4:51 left in the contest. They continued to be behind anywhere from 1-4 points until a pair of free throws at the 1:11 mark tied the game at 67-67.

Williamson was sent to the charity stripe with 44 seconds left on a shooting foul and made one of two, and Duncan Robinson got free for a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Ephs a 70-68 lead with 32 seconds left. Following a H-SC timeout, Lewis got open from the left corner but missed the shot from deep with 22 seconds remaining. H-SC was forced to foul, sending Robinson to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. He missed the first and Williamson grabbed the board. With five seconds left, H-SC called a timeout followed by a Williams timeout. The ball was inbounded to Williamson about 10-feet from the basket on the left baseline and he attempted a turnaround jumper that looked to be good but an unkind roll saw the ball rim out at the buzzer.

Williamson posted game-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks as he shot 8-12 from the field, and Murray added 11 points and four rebounds. Leon Hargrove (Raleigh, NC/Middle Creek) and Mitch Owens (Williamsburg/Walsingham) each came off the bench to contribute 12 points. Hargrove also tacked on eight rebounds, his third straight game with at least seven rebounds, and three assists while Owens contributed four assists.

Each team shot 49 percent from the field while the Ephs were on fire from three, shooting 12-25 compared to just a 6-24 performance from H-SC. H-SC outrebounded Williams 34-25.