ASHLAND, VA — The Randolph College men's basketball team held a nine-point lead midway through the second half but could not hold on as the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College scored a come-from-behind 52-49 victory in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action Wednesday evening from Crenshaw Gymnasium.

The first half was very even, as the period contained five ties and eight lead changes. Neither team led by more than four in the first half, as Randolph (6-6/2-2 ODAC) held a four-point advantage with 12:29 left on a pair of free throws from junior Chris Battaglia (Smithfield, VA/Portsmouth). As could be expected with such a close period, the halftime score was deadlocked at 21.

Out of the locker rooms, Randolph trailed by one at 26-25 but rattled off the next eight points, highlighted by a trifecta fromColton Hunt (Whittier, NC/Smoky Mountain). After R-MC (10-3/3-2 ODAC) scored on a Lamar Giggetts basket, Randolph notched back-to-back buckets to post the game's biggest lead of nine points at 37-28.

The Yellow Jackets would fight back, scoring the game's next nine points to tie the game at 37. After Randolph retook a three point advantage on a Dylan Shiflett (Virginia Beach, VA/Cape Henry) with 6:53 to go, the WildCats failed to score for the next 5:41 of game time as Randolph-Macon grew a six point lead.

Randolph-Macon increased the lead to seven with 22 seconds left, but the WildCats had one last run in them. Two buckets by Hunt pulled the game to within three points with eight seconds left, and after a missed free throw Randolph got the ball with four seconds remaining. Hunt had a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game, but the shot didn't go down and R-MC escaped with the victory.

The game was a rematch of last year's ODAC Tournament Championship contest, one that R-MC also captured. Hunt finished with game-highs of 13 points and eight rebounds, also picking up two steals. Zach Desgain (Richmond, VA/J.R. Tucker), who was playing against his older brother Adam Desgain, had a strong game with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Senior Derrick Woods-Morrow (Greensboro, NC/NE Guilford) and Shiflett each scored six points, and senior Julius Thomas (Chesapeake, VA/Stonebridge) posted five points in action off the bench. Randolph shot 42.6 percent from the floor and captured the rebounding battle, 35-27.

Randolph-Macon got 12 points each from Giggetts and Andre Simon. The Yellow Jackets made 22 of the 54 field goals they attempted, while winning the turnover battle 24-16. The WildCats held R-MC to only 28.6 percent (4-14) shooting from downtown.

The WildCats will return to the road on Saturday with a contest in Emory, VA against the Wasps of Emory & Henry College. Tip is set for 2 p.m. in the King Center on the campus of Emory & Henry.