Box Score LYNCHBURG, VA – On an emotional afternoon from Randolph College where the 2012-13 senior class was honored before the game, the WildCat men's basketball team led for 38 minutes of the contest in earning a hard fought 64-59 victory over Washington and Lee University Saturday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action.
Though the WildCats (19-4/10-4 ODAC) led for all but a 1:38 stretch in the first half, the game was still very close throughout. The biggest lead for Randolph of nine points came in the second half with just over four minutes to play on a three from senior Chris Battaglia (Smithfield, VA/Portsmouth).
In the opening stanza, Randolph built a seven-point edge over the Generals three times, with the latest time coming with 4:12 left in the opening period after a lay-up from Battaglia. The senior center was one of four WildCats in double figures, as he posted 14 points on the night. Battaglia has now scored in double figures in eight straight outings.
After Randolph entered the locker rooms with a four-point halftime lead, Washington and Lee (11-12/6-8 ODAC) rallied to knot the contest at 41 after a lay-up from Andrew Franz. With the hosts up one at 48-47 with 9:12 to play, Randolph went on a 9-3 spurt to take a seven-point edge and would weather a late rally from W&L for the ODAC triumph.
The 10th ODAC regular season win is the most the WildCats have ever posted in a regular season and the 19 wins set a new program-high for wins in a campaign. Senior guard Colton Hunt (Whittier, NC/Smoky Mountain) had game-bests of 17 points and 13 rebounds, dishing out four assists and gobbling up three steals. Hunt went six-of-13 from the floor, making five-of-six from the line.
Junior Mike Ehilegbu (Raleigh, NC/Ravenscroft) had 15 points, nailing three of his four attempts from downtown, and first-year guard Corey Brown (Williamsburg, VA/Walsingham) had his best game of the season, going five-of-10 from the floor en route to a career-high 14 points.
The WildCats shot 47.1 percent (24-51) on field goal attempts, making nine of their 22 shots (40.9 percent) from behind the arc. Randolph won the battle on the boards 30-28, while both teams turned the ball over 11 times.
Washington and Lee got a team-best 17 points from Franz, who also pulled in seven boards. Javon McDonald scored 14 points, Patrick O'Connor had 12 points and five boards, and senior JD Ey added six points, 11 assists and eight boards. W&L posted the same 41.1 percent shooting line as Randolph, connecting on six-of-14 (42.9 percent) on threes. Neither team went to line much, combining for just 20 total free throws.
Randolph's next challenge is travelling the 4.8 miles to take on cross town rival Lynchburg College (18-5/9-5 ODAC) for the two team's only seasonal meeting Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in Turner Gym. Randolph is currently one game ahead of LC in the ODAC standings, with the WildCats alone in third place.
--RANDOLPH--
