ASHLAND, Va. – Junior Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) scored 21 points, including 15 in the second half, and grabbed 11 rebounds as the top-ranked and first-place Randolph-Macon men's basketball team battled past second-place Guilford 60-56 in ODAC action on Thursday evening to give head coach Josh Merkel his 200th career victory.

The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 60, Guilford 56

Venue: Crenshaw Gym

Records: R-MC 19-1, 11-0 ODAC; GC 12-5, 8-2 ODAC

How it Happened:

• The Quakers scored the first five points of the game before senior Ian Robertson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) came off the bench to nail a three-pointer for the Yellow Jackets. GC led 7-3 before triples by senior DaQuan Morris (Philadelphia, Pa./Hill School) and sophomore Will Coble (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day) gave R-MC its first lead at 9-7 with 13:25 left in the first half. The Quakers held a slim 17-16 edge before a trey by Coble and two buckets by Mallory put the Yellow Jackets up 23-17 with 6:40 remaining. GC closed to within two before a layup by senior David Funderburg (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) and a jumper by Mallory pushed the lead back to six at 27-21 with 3:40 left. The Quakers scored six straight to tie it before a layup by senior Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) put R-MC on top 29-27 with 40 seconds left. GC would have the final bucket of the period and the game was tied 29-29 at the break. Coble led the Yellow Jackets with nine points and Mallory added six. Sophomore Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had four points and six rebounds.
• Mallory had a layup to start the scoring in the second half. The Quakers had a one-point lead before a triple by Coble put the Yellow Jackets on top 36-34 with 15:40 remaining. GC scored seven straight to go up 41-36 before a pair of three-point plays by Mallory sparked a 13-5 spurt as the home team went up 49-46 with seven minutes left. The Quakers fought back and took a 53-51 edge with four minutes remaining. Mallory hit a free throw and converted another three-point play as R-MC went up 55-53 with three minutes left. A three-pointer by GC put them up 56-55 with 2:45 on the clock. Junior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) powered in for a layup to put the Yellow Jackets on top for good at 57-56 with 2:25 remaining. On the next possession for the Quakers, Anthony blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound and passed to Talbert, who fed Mallory for a layup to make it 59-56 with 54.5 seconds left. Mbangue grabbed a rebound on a missed GC shot and was fouled. He hit one free throw to make the final 60-56.

By The Numbers:

• Coble scored a career-high 15 points, going 5 for 7 on three-pointers.
• R-MC had a 37-29 advantage on the glass. Mbangue grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds to go with 11 by Mallory.
• The Yellow Jackets had 15 assists on 22 field goals. Anthony had six and Talbert dished out five.

For The Record:

• Merkel has a career mark of 200-79 (.717) in 11 seasons as a head coach. He was 66-41 (.617) in four season at Salisbury and is 134-38 (.779) in seven seasons at R-MC.
• R-MC extended its win streak to 13.
• The Yellow Jackets extended their home win streak to 41, the longest current streak in Division III.
• Over the past four seasons, R-MC is 86-7 overall (.925) and 44-2 in ODAC contests (.957).
• Anthony had two points to give him 1,740 for his career, the fourth-highest total in program history.
• Anthony had six assists to give him 691, the most in ODAC history and the second-highest total in program history. Paul Jez owns the R-MC record with 747.

Next Up:

• R-MC will host Roanoke on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. It will be Alumni Day.