ASHLAND, Va. - Randolph-Macon men's basketball used two huge scoring runs to surge past N.C. Wesleyan, 76–52, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
The Basics:
Score: #4 Randolph-Macon 76, N.C. Wesleyan 52
Venue: Ashland, Va. // Crenshaw Gym // Randolph-Macon College
Records: Randolph-Macon (26-3, 14-2 ODAC), N.C. Wesleyan (21-7, 11-3 USA South)
How it Happened:
- The start of the game was even on both sides, as the lead was held by either one or two possessions on either side. N.C. Wesleyan was answering everything the Yellow Jackets threw at them and Nasir Johnson pushed the Battling Bishop lead to 10-6 with 13:02 on the clock. Randolph-Macon saw Jack Loyd (Fairfax, Va./Flint Hill) enter the game and nail a three-pointer to give the RMC offense life, trimming the NCWU lead to 10-9. The Battling Bishops got two free throws and a bucket by Markquan Gilbert to get their lead back to three points at 14-11 with 11:50 left in the half. Randolph-Macon kept battling back and Jabril Robinson (Rockville, Md./South Kent Prep) gave the Lemon and Black the lead at 19-17. Gilbert continued to lead NCWU offensively, tying the game up two different times. The Battling Bishops took the lead back with a score of 22-21 with 7:31 left in the half. The flood gates opened for Randolph-Macon, as a 11-0 scoring avalanche pushed the Yellow Jackets out in front 32-22 and forced a NCWU timeout with 4:25 on the clock. Keishawn Pulley Jr. (Richmond, Va./St. Christopher's School) nailed a huge three ball and Malcolm Hodges (Richmond, Va./Monacan) led the scoring with four points during the run. Deejay Cox ran off four straight points for the Battling Bishops, keeping his team within striking distance, still trailing RMC 32-26. Theo Antinori (Asheville, N.C./Rabun Gap) scored seven of the final eight points for the Lemon and Black to send the teams into halftime with Randolph-Macon leading 40-32.
- In the second half, the Yellow Jackets did not waste time to extend their lead in the game, as Hodges led RMC on a 10-0 run with six points and the lead ballooned to 50-32 with 16:05 on the clock. Brady Lam (Ruckersville, Va./William Monroe) pushed the lead to 20 points (56-35) for RMC with a bucket at the 12:52 mark. The early scoring run in the second half kept Randolph-Macon to about a 20 point lead until Amr Areikat (Ramallah, Palestine./Langley) made a basket to up the advantage to 69-46 with 5:26 on the clock. The biggest lead of the game was 26 points for the Lemon and Black, coming off a Lam lay-up with :42 seconds left in the game. Randolph-Macon battled in the first half and used two big scoring runs to begin the NCAA tournament with a 76-52 win.
Inside the Numbers:
- Randolph-Macon shot 50.0 percent from the floor, as N.C. Wesleyan knocked down 39.5 percent of its shots.
- The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Battling Bishops 41-to-24 in the entire game. Randolph-Macon also pulled down 18 offensive rebounds to the six that NCWU recorded.
- Robinson and Hodges tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points in the game. The duo also combined for seven rebounds and four assists.
- Liam Joyce (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) ended the game with 12 points, six rebounds and an assist.
- Areikat scored eight points, pulled down three rebounds and dished out three assists for the Yellow Jackets.
- Antinori ended his night with seven points, six rebounds and two assists.
For the Record:
- Pulley Jr. passed Bryan Vacca '83 and into a tie with Joey Allen '77 for 19th on the all-time scoring list with 1,320 points.
- Robinson passed Mike Boyer '87 for 27th on the all-time scoring list with 1,261 points.
Up Next
Randolph-Macon will take on #22 TCNJ in the NCAA second round tomorrow night at 6:45 p.m.
