LYNCHBURG, Va.- First place Emory and Henry came to the RAD Center on Wednesday nightg with a #21 national ranking and an undefeated ODAC record. The Randolph men gave the Wasps a battle but E&H ultimately came out on the winning end 85-74.

Both teams struggled early on in the first half before the first media timeout at 13:49 with Emory and Henry leading 8-5. Randolph came back to tie it at 17-all after a three by Reid Jacoby (Richmond, Va./Benedictine). Ryan Fields (Edgewood, Md./Loyola Blakefield) followed him with a trey of his own to give the 'Cats a 20-17 lead with 8:24 left in the half. The Wasp would eventually take the lead back and go into halftime ahead 30-26.

E&H used a 7-2 run to begin the second half to go up 37-28. The WildCats quickly brought the deficit down with threes from Brian Smith (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) and Fields to make it 37-34. After the Wasps upped their advantage to six, Fields converted the traditional three-point play and Jacoby made a layup to get Randolph to 40-39.

Randolph kept pace with E&H but the Wasps used a 12-4 run to go ahead 59-48 with under 11 minutes remaining. The Wildcats cut it to an eight-point lead, 66-58, after a three-point basket by Sammy Hooper (Richmond, Va./Midlothian), but the Wasps were able to stay ahead for the remainder of the frame and get the victory.

Overall, Emory and Henry was 32-of-68 from the floor (47.1%). Randolph shot 29-of-66 (43.9%) The Wildcat were better from beyond the three-point arc as they were good on 10-of-27 (37%) compared to 7-of-24 (29.2%) for the Wasps.

Head coach Pete Hamilton noted how his team played hard and that they had the Wasps where they wanted them. He acknowledged the play of Smith and Drew Hayden (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) who logged 25 minutes and scored four points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked a shot, and picked up a steal.

Leading the WildCats was Fields with a season-high 28 points to go along with 12 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Hooper tacked on 13 points. Smith and Jacoby chipped in 11 points each with Jacoby also accumulating five assists and five rebounds. Jacoby's five assists now give him 333 for his career as he passes Zach Desgain for the program record.

"If there is one record that is Reid's record it would be that, said Hamilton. "He is an assists man in a lot of ways by setting guys up, putting guys in position defensively, communicating what we are trying to get across, and getting guys what they are supposed to be doing in the offseason That is the Reid Jacoby record."

Randolph goes back to on the road to face Randolph-Macon on Saturday. Game time will be at 4:30 p.m. The WildCats will be looking to avenge a 78-51 setback to the Yellowjackets back on January 6 in Lynchburg.

"We are consistently showing flashes," said Hamilton. "I'm encouraged but at the same time we can't do just what we did tonight or it's not going to be good enough."

Reid Jacoby and Head Coach Pete Hamilton

pose after Jacoby set the assists record.