NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- The second night of the CNU Classic commenced with Randolph men's basketball squaring off against Mary Washington. The WildCats had a hot shooting performance from behind the three-point arc but ultimately could not overtake the Eagles as UMW won by the score of 87-72.
Randolph was on fire in the first half as it shot 60% (9-of-15) from three-point territory. The WildCats cooled a bit in the second half (3-of-7) but finished 46.9% overall.
The three-point barrage starting right away as Zach Hinton (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) hit a trey to start the game giving Randolph a 3-0 lead. The Eagles quickly got out ahead as a 25-6 run spanning over eight minutes of game team spotted UMW to a 28-11 advantage and put the WildCats in a deep hole.
Undeterred by their predicament, the 'Cats cut their deficit to seven points with a 10-0 run. Randolph continued to chip away and battle and moved to within four points, 38-34, with 2:14 remaining in the half. The WildCats trailed by seven as time winded down but Brian Smith's (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) long three-point attempt went in as time expire and Randolph's deficit was back to four points, 42-38, at the break.
Smith picked up where he left off in the opening of the second half as he hit a jumper to close the WildCats to within two points. After an Eagle missed three pointer, the WildCats picked up the rebound and Hinton then drained another three to give Randolph its first lead since the beginning of the first half, 43-42.
Randolph's lead did not last long as Mary Washington used a 9-0 run to go ahead 51-43. A brief run by the 'Cats got them to within two but again the Eagles stayed out ahead and led 63-54 with 12:18 remaining to play.
The WildCats would not back down and cut the Eagle lead to four points, 65-61, following a Justin Dula (Taylorsville, N.C./Alexander Central) layup. It was as close as Randolph would end up getting as UMW went on a 13-4 run to go up 78-65 with 3:47 remaining in the game. The WildCats could not muster a rally as Mary Washington stayed comfortably ahead.
Hinton led Randolph with a career-best 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He was 5-of-8 in three-point shots. Smith added 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) finished with 14 points while Justin Lowe (Reidsville, N.C./Reidsville) chipped in 10 points. Dula grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with five points and five assists.
The WildCats did not perform as well at the free throw line as the team was 9-of-21 (42.9%). The Eagles ended up 11-of-14 (78.6%).
Rebounds favored UMW 42-38. Randolph did get contributions from bench as it outscored Mary Washington 27-17.
The WildCats return to the RAD after Thanksgiving as they host Randolph-Macon in their ODAC opener on December 1. Game time will be at 4:00 p.m.
