A "complete team effort," according to head coach Kirby Dean saw the Eastern Mennonite University men's basketball team advance to 12-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference as the Royals swept the season series with a 85-55 win Saturday night.

Hampden-Sydney falls to 9-11 on the season, 4-7 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

EMU sweeps the season series from the Tigers for the first time since the 1983-84 season. The 30-point margin of victory by the Royals is also the largest between the two programs.

"We shot the ball like we did against Randolph, the difference was that we played really hard on defense," added Dean. "We had contributions from everyone, and our bench gave us a big boost."

LeRoger Parrish (Danville, Va./Tunstall) led the way with 13 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Orie Pancione (Augusta, WVa./Hampshire) chipped in 10 points and four rebounds while D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) led all starters with 12 points.

Ben Jessee paced the Tigers with 12 points, including a 3-of-5 line from behind the arc. Shane Payne and Turner King each added nine points for HSC.

The Royals struck first in the contest with Pancione dropping in back-to-back buckets on the first two possessions. Hampden-Sydney got a basket from Cale Phillips only to have EMU go on a 6-0 run and boost their lead to eight (10-2, 16:14). The lead was short lived for the home team as an 8-0 swing by the Tigers tied the game at 10 all less than five minutes later. A dunk by Hinson and a long ball from sophomore guard George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) put the Royals up by five.

Hampden-Sydney closed to only two points of tying the contest on two different occasions before a pair of free throw shots by King with 1:50 remaining in the half knotted the score at 27. EMU then held the Tigers off the board for the remainder of the stanza and put six points on the board, taking a 34-28 lead into the break.

Johnson and Pancione each had six points at the break while Phillips, Austin Twine (Dublin, Va./Pulaski Co.), and Wayne Young (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle) each had four points.

EMU continued to get a strong presence off their bench in the second half as the single digit lead quickly doubled. A 7-0 run to start the second half saw points come from Parrish while senior center Chancelor Fitzgerald (Chatham, Va./Chatham) added a jumper at the 15:04 mark to quell a brief Tiger rally.

Fitzgerald finished with a career-high eight points and eight rebounds off the bench. Young also registered a career-high seven points for EMU.

The Royals all-around improved game since the Bridgewater College loss kept the visiting team searching for answers. A one-time Hampden-Sydney deficit of nine points quickly ballooned up to 23 points only five minutes later before peaking at 32.

Lane Medlin recorded six points and six rebounds for the Tigers in 16 minutes of action.

Johnson finished with nine points. Twine had eight points and three steals.

The Royals will look to carry this momentum with them into next week's action as EMU travels to Lynchburg, Va., to tangle with the Hornets on Wednesday, February 4, for a 7 p.m., ODAC contest.