ALLENTOWN, PA  – The Randolph College men's basketball team took its first lead of the contest with 2:29 left on a three-pointer from junior Mike Ehilegbu (Raleigh, NC/Ravenscroft), and the WildCats held Arcadia College to only two points down the stretch in earning a season-opening 69-66 victory at the Scotty Wood Tip Off Tournament, hosted by Muhlenberg College.

                The story of the game for the WildCats was the play from senior guard Colton Hunt (Whittier, NC/Smoky Mountain), who finished with a game-high 32 points. Hunt was 11-of-16 from the floor, making three-of-four from downtown. Hunt also finished with three steals on the contest.

                The early going was not friendly for the WildCats (1-0), as the Knights opened their biggest lead of 15 points at 10:33 left in the first half following a three-ball from Khalief Trawick. With the WildCats down 12 with 4:14 left in the first stanza, Randolph went on a 12-0 run to end the half, highlighted by a thunderous two-handed breakaway jam by Hunt following a steal.

                Hunt led all scorers in the first half, scoring 12 points on five-of-eight shooting. Trawick led Arcadia, as he nailed two threes to finish the period with 10 points. The Knights would start the half hot again in the second, notching the first eight tallies of the half to take a 42-34 lead. Randolph battled back to trim the advantage to one with 10:23 left on a lay-up by senior Chris Battaglia (Smithfield, VA/Portsmouth).

                AC pulled back up by seven with 7:42 left, but again the WildCat clawed back into the contest to tie the game at 57 on a step-back three by Hunt at the end of the shot clock. Arcadia posted five straight points to pull ahead 62-57 with 3:45 left in the contest, but Randolph outscored its opponent 12-4 over the last three minutes to earn the season-opening win.

                Ehilegbu was six-of-nine from the floor in posting 15 points, while first-year Evan Horn (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill) posted 13 points in his collegiate debut. The WildCats shot 57.1 percent (24-42) from the field, knocking down seven-of-14 from downtown.

                Arcadia was paced by the 15 points and five rebounds from Colin McCarthy, while Trawick finished with 14 points, five boards and four steals. Joseph Brown added 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks for the Knights, who shot 22-of-49 (44.9 percent) from the field. AC also out-rebounded Randolph 27-21.

                The WildCats will now advance to the championship game of the Scotty Wood Tip Off Tournament Saturday at 8 p.m., where they will play the winner of Muhlenberg/Drew University game Friday evening.

--RANDOLPH--