ASHLAND, VA – No. 7 Randolph-Macon fought back from a pair of second half deficits but fell short as the No. 9 Virginia Wesleyan Marlins scored a 59-57 victory Wednesday evening in ODAC Men's Hoops action in Ashland.

R-MC (4-2 / 0-1) fell behind by nine points with 14 minutes to play after VWC's (7-0 / 1-0 ODAC) Chris Teasley hit a jumper to make the score 44-35.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a 10-0 run, taking a one point lead with just over 10 minutes to go when Brandon Braxton hit a free-throw, making the score 45-44.

The Marlins came back with an 8-0 run over their own, moving back in front 52-45 when Art Crew made a jumper with 8:22 to play in the game.

R-MC again rallied; scoring 10 of the next 13 points, tying the game at 55-55 after Jordan Brown converted the front-end of two shots from the charity strip with 2:41 to go.

A bucket by VWC's by Tre Ford on the ensuing possession put the Marlins ahead 57-55 with just over two minutes to play.

After a technical foul was called on the Yellow Jackets, during their next possession, VWC was able to extend its advantage to 59-55 with 1:36 to go.

R-MC was able to force a stop on VWC's ensuing possession following the technical and Eric Pugh pulled the Jackets within a pair with a layup with just under one minute to play.

The Yellow Jackets again scored on a defensive stop and got the ball back with 10.2 seconds remaining. R-MC came out of a time out and got two shots off but where unable to convert as the VWC came away with the win.

Pugh and Brown led the Jackets with 13 points apiece, while Braxton finished with 10 points on the night.

Chris Astorga and Donald Vaughan each had a game-high 14 points on the night, while Ford finished with 12 for the Marlins in the win.

Randolph-Macon will be back in action on Saturday when it travels to No. 3 Eastern Mennonite for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday evening.

-Yellow Jackets-