HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA - The Rowan men's basketball team's season came to an end with a 91-76 loss to top-ranked Hampden-Sydney in the third round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at Kirby Field House before a sellout crowd. Hampden-Sydney moves on to host Nebraska-Wesleyan, a 74-70 winner of Claremont M-S, for a trip to the Final Four.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Danny Fleming came off the bench to lead Rowan as he scored a career-high 25 points with Ja'Zere Noel netting 23 points in his final game as a Prof. Marcellus Ross was the only other Rowan player in double figures with 11 points.

The Profs end the season with a 21-8 record while making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16.

Hampden-Sydney (29-2) took control early, using a 10-0 run to build up a 20-6 lead at the midpoint of the low-scoring first half. Rowan, which averaged 89.5 points per game, reached double digits with nine minutes to play after five straight points from Fleming, but trailed 22-11. Rowan closed to 33-25 on a jumper by Marcellus Ross, but the Tigers would hold a 42-31 lead at halftime.

Hampden-Sydney was able to maintain the double-digit lead through most of the second half as the Tigers shot 58 percent from the field, and were led by Davidson Hubbard (14 points) and Josiah Hardy (20 points).

Rowan cut it to 61-52 after a layup from Meares but the home team rattled off nine straight to take a 70-52 lead. Hampden-Sydney then took its biggest lead of the game, 72-54, with 10 minutes left, but the Profs wouldn't go away. Fleming connected on a three-pointer to pull Rowan within 78-66 with eight minutes left but Hardy would answer for H-SC. Six straight Rowan points in the final three minutes cut the Profs' deficit to 83-74, but the Tigers sealed it by hitting 8-of-8 from the foul line.

The Profs had an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers in the game and made just 6-of-21 from three-point range, with Hampden-Sydney converting 52 percent from the field.

The loss ends the careers of two of the top scorers in Rowan history - Marcellus Ross and Ja'Zere Noel. Ross closes out his career with 1,461 points, which ranks sixth all-time,  while Noel, the two-time NJAC Player of the Year, ends with 1,218 points in just two seasons to rank 14th on the school's career scoring list.