LYNCHBURG, VA – The Randolph College men's basketball team used a 23-4 second half run to erase a 14-point deficit and earn a 62-53 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)  victory over Bridgewater College in action from the Randolph Athletics and Dance (RAD) Center.

                The WildCats (14-2/6-2 ODAC) trailed 34-20 with just under 18 minutes to play in the second half, but the home team would not go away lightly. Over the next 7:35 of game action, Randolph turned a 14-point deficit into a five-point lead. During that stretch, senior Chris Battaglia (Smithfield, VA/Portsmouth) scored eight of his game and career-high 23 points.

                Randolph took its first lead of the second-half and first since the 16:45 mark of the first half with 11:45 left in the game, as Lucas Smith (Cloverdale, VA/Lord Botetourt) converted a nice pass from Mike Ehilegbu (Raleigh, NC/Ravenscroft). BC (10-7/4-4 ODAC) pulled to within two at 7:52 on the game clock, but a two-handed dunk off a steal from Battaglia sandwiched by a pair of three-pointers put the WildCats up 10 points with 3:38 remaining.

                Bridgewater's Tavis Stapleton brought the Eagles to within five points with less than a minute to go, but the WildCats hit six of their eight free throws down the stretch to seal the big ODAC victory. Battaglia finished nine-of-15 on the afternoon, making two of his three attempts from deep. He added a team-leading eight rebounds while playing a career-high 35 minutes.

                ODAC leading scorer and the NCAA's fifth-leading scorer in Division III Colton Hunt (Whittier, NC/Smoky Mountain) scored a season-low 12 points, but contributed in other ways by picking up seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. First-year Evan Horn (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill) had eight points and four helpers, and Ehilegbu added seven points and two steals.

                Randolph struggled from the floor in the first half, making just six-of-23 field goals for a shooting percentage of 26.1%. The WildCats turned that around in the second stanza, nailing 60 percent from the floor including making four-of-five from downtown. The WildCats turned the ball over 12 times, marking the third straight game that Randolph has given the ball away 12 times or less.

                The Eagles were led offensively by the 16 points by Stapleton, and Ed Reddick added a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. David Larson added six points off the bench for BC, which shot 38.6 percent (22-57) on field goal attempts. BC hit 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half, but made only eight of 30 field goals attempted in the second period.

                Randolph will head to Raleigh, NC Monday evening at 7 p.m. to take on first-year program William Peace University in non-conference play.

--RANDOLPH--