GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Randolph-Macon men's basketball survived a tough matchup with (RV) Gettysburg 62-59, winning the Gettysburg Tip-Off Championship in the final moments.
The Basics:
Score: #2 Randolph-Macon 62, (RV) Gettysburg 59
Venue: Gettysburg, Pa. // Bream Gym // Gettysburg College
Records: Randolph-Macon (2-0, 0-0 ODAC), Gettysburg (1-1, 0-0 CC)
How it Happened:
- Gettysburg jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with buckets by Nate Williams and Kosta Raduvic with just under 19:00 left in the opening half. The Yellow Jackets answered with seven straight points, capped off by a Jabril Robinson (Rockville, Md./South Kent Prep) basket and gave Randolph-Macon a 7-5 lead. The run would continue and a jumper by Bryce Scott (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) pushed the lead to 12-7 for the Lemon and Black with 14:11 left on the clock. The Bullets stayed within striking distance and Caleb Gillus made a bucket to tie up the game at 18-18 with 8:22 left in the half.
- The Yellow Jackets held a 20-17 lead, following a lay-up by Liam Joyce (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) with 7:57 left. Reese Craft led an 8-0 run by Gettysburg with four points to put the Bullets ahead 25-20 and forced Randolph-Macon to take a timeout with 4:25 left in the half. Instance response from Randolph-Macon, as Keishawn Pulley Jr. (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's School) tied up the game at 25-25 with a three-pointer. Gillus nailed a three ball to give the Bullets a 32-27 lead with under a minute left in the half. The Yellow Jackets would pull within three points at the buzzer with a Pulley Jr. lay-up, trailing 32-29 at the halftime break.
- Delani Hammonds (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) and Robinson converted back-to-back buckets to quickly swing the lead back to the Lemon and Black at 33-32 early in the second half. Gettysburg returned the favor with consecutive dunks by Malachi Briscoe and Raduvic to give them back the lead 36-33. Hammonds shot life back into Randolph-Macon with a three-pointer to up the game, Ty Showalter (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) and Theartis Battle (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) converted buckets to give the Yellow Jackets a 40-36 lead with just under 14:00 left on the clock.
- The Bullets continued to stay close, as two big three balls tied up the game at 47-47 with 8:19 left in regulation. Amr Areikat (Ramallah, Palestine, Langley) made a clutch lay-up with 6:18 left on the clock to give the lead back to the Lemon and Black at 51-50. Battle grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds and made both ensuing buckets to give Randolph-Macon a 55-54 lead. Ray Zamloot made a lay-up plus the foul shot to swing the lead back to the Bullets with 2:01 left at 57-55. Robinson recorded five straight points, giving the lead back the Lemon and Black at 60-59 with :39 second left in regulation. Randolph-Macon had the lead following two free throws by Showalter and Gettysburg almost hit the game-tying shot at the buzzer but it would not count. The Yellow Jackets hold on to defeat Gettysburg 62-59.
Inside the Numbers:
- Gettysburg shot 46.0 percent from the floor, as Randolph-Macon knocked down 39.4 percent of its shots.
- The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Bullets 45-to-27 in the entire game. The Lemon and Black pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, compared to the three that Gettysburg grabbed.
- Robinson led all scorers with 14 points in the game. The senior three rebounds and three assists to his line.
- Battle was clutch off the bench for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The freshman also pulled down four rebounds, swiped two steals and had an assist.
- Pulley Jr. ended the night with seven points, two assists and one rebound.
- Joyce and Showalter combined for 12 points and 13 rebounds on the evening.
All-Tournament Team:
Up Next
Randolph-Macon will head to #9 Christopher Newport on Wednesday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m.
