FREDERICK, Md.Â
–Â
Keishawn Pulley Jr. led the way with 25 points as Randolph-Macon Men's Basketball opened the 2024-25 campaign with a 79-66 win over Salisbury in the Rotary Club of Frederick Tipoff Tournament on Friday night.
Score:Â #7 Randolph-Macon 79, Salisbury 66
Venue:Â Volpe Athletic Center/Hood College
Records:Â Randolph-Macon (1-0), Salisbury (0-1)
How it Happened:
- Liam Joyce (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) began the game with a tip-in layup and Jabril Robinson (Rockville, Md./South Kent Prep) and Charlie Thornton (Radnor, Pa./Radnor) each hit threes in the opening five minutes of the game to give RMC a 10-4 lead early on. Keishawn Pulley Jr. (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's School) later had seven points in a two-minute span to help RMC build an eight point lead with nine minutes to go in the half. He finished with 13 first half points to help the Yellow Jackets take a 43-29 lead into the halftime break.
- Pulley Jr. and Robinson each hit triples to open the second half, followed by a layup by Amr Areikat (Ramallah, Palestine/Langley) to fuel an 8-4 run for the Yellow Jackets. The Sea Gulls answered with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 11, but Malcolm Hodges (Richmond, Va./Monacan) hit a floater in the lane to halt the run. RMC held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, despite 26 total points being scored between the sides in the final 4:40 of the game. RMC would close out a 79-66 win.
Inside the Numbers:
- Keishawn Pulley Jr. shot 8-12 from the field and hit four threes to finish with 25 points. He added four rebounds as well.
- Jabril Robinson was the other Yellow Jackets' player in double figures with 15. He hit three triples. Robinson had six assists with zero turnovers. He finished last season in the top 40 in the nation with a 2.47 assist/turnover ratio.
- RMC outrebounded the Sea Gulls 40-30 and had 14 offensive boards.
- The Yellow Jackets had nine turnovers. Last season, RMC ranked fourth in the nation with just 9.2 turnovers per game.
- Liam Joyce led the team with eight rebounds and added a block.
- The Lemon and Black had 13 fast break points to just one for Salisbury.
- RMC led for all but 2:35 of game time.
For the Record:
- RMC has now won seven straight season openers, dating back to 2017.
Up Next:
- RMC will play Hood College tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for the Championship of the Rotary Club of Frederick Tipoff Tournament.
