WASHINGTON, DC – NCAA Division I American topped No. 2 Randolph-Macon 61-55 in a men's basketball exhibition Thursday night in the Nation's Capital. American, which is tabbed as the favorite in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, was led by Vlad Moldoveanu and Stephen Lumpkins who each had 16 points.
Brandon Braxton had 14 points to lead the Jackets, while Calvin Croskey had nine points and Jordan Brown chipped in with eight.
Despite a sluggish start shooting the ball to start the game, R-MC was able to take a four-point lead mid way through the first half.
American would rally and eventually take a 31-26 advantage into the locker room at half time. The Eagles shot 48.6% from the field in the opening half, while R-MC shot 34.6%, making 9-of-26 shots from the field.
The Jackets battled back, cutting the AU lead to just one point when a Brandon Braxton dunk made the score 38-37 with just under 10 minutes to play.
After the teams exchanged possessions, Danny Jones stole a pass and went the length of the court, with his ensuing dunk putting R-MC up 39-38.
The Eagles took the lead back on its next trip down the floor when Lumpkins converted a pair of free throws with 8:52 to play.
The game remained close over the next few minutes, with a three-pointer by Troy Brewer and a layup by Lumpkins extending the American advantage to 49-43 with just under six minutes to go in the game.
A Calvin Croskey three pointer cut the AU advtage to 54-48 with 3:44 to play, but the Eagles responded as Moldoveanu canned a trifecta of his own to put AU up 57-48.
On R-MC's next possession, Jordan Brown knocked down two shots from the charity stripe. AU then turned the ball over on the inbounds and Croskey nailed a three to pull the Jackets within four at 57-53 with 1:27 to play.
It remained that way until Adam Desgain made two free throws to make the score 57-55, but that would be as close as R-MC would get as Steve Luptak made four from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the game.
The Yellow Jackets went 12-of-19 from the free throw line and shot 26.7% from the field. American held a 37-26 advantage in rebounding.
Randolph-Macon will be back in action on November 15th when it hosts Marymount at 7:00 p.m. Crenshaw Gym in the season opener for both teams.
