HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.) matched his career-high, pouring in 28 points to eclipse 1,000 career points for the Guilford College men's basketball team (6-6, 0-3 ODAC), but with a second-half surge, (RV) Hampden-Sydney College avoided the upset, 92-79 on Tony Shaver Court in Diaz Arena at Kirby Field House on Wednesday night.

Proctor becomes the 35^th Quaker all-time to reach the 1,000-career points echelon, and the 12^th in the program's Division-III era, now standing with 1,003 in his dignified career. It has been a couple seasons since a Guilford player reached that plateau, however, with the last being Tyler Dearman '23, MISM '24 who reached the mark during the 2022-23 campaign.

Scintillating shooting in the opening half of action yielded to a second half in which GC could not take the lid off the rim, finishing with a .351 shooting mark overall and .359 mark from distance while being unable to get extras at the stripe with their 11 makes tied for their second-fewest of the season. The Tigers flipped the Quakers script, riding a .571 second half shooting rate to a .462 overall mark while also out-rebounding GC, 62-39. Their second unit was a big advantage, out-scoring the Guilford bench 39-11, while also beating their guests on the break, 36-14, and in the paint, 46-16.

Making half of his 20 shot attempts on the night to lead all players in scoring, Proctor did most of his damage from distance, making more history in the process. Connecting on a career-high eight threes, he matched the third-highest total for three-point makes in program history, and the highest figure since Gabriel Lowder's program record mark of 10 against Roanoke back in 2011-12. Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio) was solid, netting 19 points while dishing a season-high four assists, and snaring a team and career-high eight rebounds, The Quakers just needed more help beyond their backcourt tandem on this night, as Rival Axselle (Mechanicsville, Va.) had a strong first half, netting 10 of his 12 point, but he was the only other Quaker in double-figures. Axselle added a career-high three steals plus a block defensively while Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.) dished a team-high six assists.

Slumping shooting the ball so far this season, Colin Radcliffe exploded for a season-best 25 points including seven threes on 13 attempts to lead the hosts in the points column. Santana Lynch posted a double-double, making half of his 14 shots attempts to net 17 points in addition to a career and game-high 14 rebounds in reserve. Alex Cannon also secured double-digit boards with a career-high 12 while Peter Moye and Tugg Bizzelle also reached double-figures scoring, with 12 and 11 respectively. On a night when H-SC distributed a season-high 29 assists, Travis Stickney led the way with 11 helpers.

Guilford set the tone right away as Proctor hit a three on their opening possession then Axselle did the same on their next trip down. The Tigers worked back to even at 11-all, but the Quakers would never trail in the opening half, responding with a 9-2 outburst thanks to a tandem of Proctor treys straddling another from Magnus Swinger (Concord, N.C.). The hosts did get back within four, but an 8-0 stretch made the GC lead double-digits and it only got back under ten on two occasions for the remainder of the half. The Guilford lit it up from range, making 9-of-19 in the first half to mount a 16-point lead at the break, 49-33.

Axselle opened the second half with a two, ahead of consecutive Tiger baskets then four-in-a-row from Salters, as Guilford led by 18 with under 18 to play, backing the hosts into the corner. Unfortunately, Hampden-Sydney came back swinging as they dumped in 12 unanswered before Proctor made back-to-back treys only to see the hosts rip off a dozen consecutive again as H-SC leveled the score at 60 by the under-12 media timeout. Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.) and Dawson Edwards (Durham, N.C.) combined for five tallies before the hosts seized their first lead with a trio of Radcliffe makes from distance, with a Bizzelle make at the stripe mixed in, and they would never trail again. With 2:45 to play, Proctor took a Clayton feed and pulled up from just inside the logo straight-away and buried it, bringing his career scoring total from 998 to 1,001, and reach his milestone. Unfortunately, the Quakers could not get a late run going, as the Tigers pulled away with the 92-79 win.

Things do not get any easier for Guilford next, as No. 2 Randolph-Macon College visits Jack Jensen Court on Saturday, January 10^th for a 2:00 PM tip.

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