ASHLAND, Va. - Randolph-Macon Men's Basketball captured its ninth straight ODAC regular season title with a 68-58 victory at home against (RV) Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday.
The Basics:
Score: #2 Randolph-Macon 68, (RV) Virginia Wesleyan 58
Venue: Ashland, Va. // Crenshaw Gym // Randolph-Macon College
Records: Randolph-Macon (22-2, 13-2 ODAC), Virginia Wesleyan (17-7, 12-3 ODAC)
How it Happened:
- Randolph-Macon opened the game on a quick 7-2 run, capped off with a three ball by Jabril Robinson (Rockville, Md./South Kent Prep) with 17:23 left in the opening half. The Marlins battled back and took the lead at 10-9, following an Omari Deveaux lay-up with 13:27 on the clock. The Yellow Jackets were down 12-11 and Theo Antinori (Asheville, N.C./Rabun Gap) nailed a three-pointer to give the lead back to RMC at 14-12 with 11:41 left in the half. Virginia Wesleyan saw Paul Anderson tie up the game at 14-14, soon after the three ball by Antinori. Randolph-Macon turned up the intensity, as Robinson led a 13-0 run, giving the Lemon and Black a 27-14 lead with 5:51 left on the clock. The Marlins cut into the RMC lead with six straight points, led by T.J. East scoring four and the lead was cut to 27-20 for Randolph-Macon. In the final three minutes of the first half, RMC scored nine of the 14 final points and took a 36-25 lead into halftime.
- In the second half, Keishawn Pulley Jr. (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's School) knocked down a three ball to open the scoring and extend the Randolph-Macon lead to 39-25. Virginia Wesleyan started to cut into the Yellow Jacket lead and a Deveaux free-throw had RMC leading 41-31 with 14:04 left in regulation. Antinori used another three-pointer to keep distance from the Marlins, as the Lemon and Black would lead 44-31. Virginia Wesleyan used tough defense and turned in a 7-0 run, trimming the Randolph-Macon lead to 44-38 with 10:13 left on the clock. Ty Showalter (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) stopped the run with a pull up jumper, but Devaux and the Marlins answered back and the score would be 46-40 with the Yellow Jackets leading with under ten minutes remaining. Showalter continued his offensive dominance, scoring five out the next seven points for Randolph-Macon and extending the lead to 53-40 with 6:48 on the clock. Virginia Wesleyan never got back within seven points, trying to use free-throws down the stretch. Randolph-Macon iced the game with free-throws in the final two minutes and took home the 68-58 victory.
Inside the Numbers:
- Randolph-Macon shot 44.6 percent from the floor, as Virginia Wesleyan knocked down 38.3 percent of its shots.
- The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Marlins 35-to-32 in the entire game.
- The Randolph-Macon bench outscored Virginia Wesleyan's 34-to-10.
- Showalter led the Lemon and Black in scoring with 15 points off the bench. The sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds, blocked a shot and had a steal.
- Antinori had 14 points in the game and went 2-of-4 from long range off the bench.
- Robinson ended the afternoon with 12 points and six rebounds.
- Delani Hammonds (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists for the Yellow Jackets.
- Liam Joyce (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) pulled down seven rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and a steal to go with five points.
- Pulley Jr. ended the game with six points and five boards for the Lemon and Black.
For the Record:
- Robinson moved past Dale Kurowsky '71 into 30th all-time in career scoring with 1,221 points.
- Randolph-Macon has now extended its home winning streak to 22 straight victories.
- The Yellow Jackets have clinched their ninth straight regular season conference title (excluding the 2021 covid season).
- Tonight's win is the 100th victory for this team's senior class.
Up Next
Randolph-Macon will finish the regular season on the road against Bridgewater on Saturday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m.
