HARRISONBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team trailed host Eastern Mennonite by 10 points early in the first half but rallied to take the lead and led for all the second half as it won 61-56. The victory snaps the WildCats' three-game winless streak and improves their record to 6-9 overall and 2-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Royals fall to 3-11 overall and 1-4 in the ODAC.

The WildCats committed just three turnovers all game for a season-low. EMU had 13 miscues which Randolph turned into 18 points.

The Royals led 17-7 with 13:32 remaining in the first half. Randolph then went on a 17-3 run that covered almost nine and a half minutes of game time to go ahead 24-20 with just a tick under three minutes remaining in the half. The WildCats would lead 28-22 at halftime.

Eastern Mennonite cut into the Randolph advantage to begin the second half and closed to within two points, 28-26, at 18:40. After a jump shot by Justin Dula (Taylorsville, N.C./Alexander Central) extended the WildCat lead to four points, the Royals cut it to one following a three-point basket by Tie Evans. EMU briefly took a one-point lead, 35-34, with under 13 minutes to play but a 6-0 burst by the WildCats gave Randolph the lead back.

The 'Cats stayed out in front for the rest of the second half but the Royals would not go down easy. Randolph had its biggest lead of the day, 57-49 with 1:13 remaining in the game. The Royals, however, made things interesting as they would chip away at their deficit and got to within three points, 59-56, with 20 seconds left. Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining and Brian Smith (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) made one of two in the final seconds to secure the win.

"Extremely impressed with our guys defensive fight tonight especially buckling down after being down 17-7 to start the game," said head coach Pete Hamilton after the game. "We've had some tough breaks lately, some of it our own doing, and to tighten up and come together as a team after a tough start on the road is special to see as a coach." 

Smith led Randolph with 17 points. He added five assists and two steals. Goodman scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Avery Payne (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenberg) pulled down a season-best eight rebounds.

The WildCats were 22-of-67 (32.8%) in field goals while the Royals were 20-of-54 (37%). Eastern Mennonite was 8-of-25 (32%) from behind the three-point arch while Randolph was 4-of-21 (19%).

Randolph led in the paint 22-18 and in second chance points 13-9. The 'Cats received 25 points from their bench to just four points for EMU.

"I talked after with the guys to touch on the fact that in preparation and throughout today each of our guys owned his role," said Hamilton. "Ty Hairston and Avery Payne gave us an outstanding lift off the bench to help us rebound against a bigger team. Justin Lowe and Evan Makle took a charge each tonight - something we've been harping on since Wednesday. Jerry Goodman came in and calmly helped us seal it down the stretch going 4-4 from the line."

The WildCats return to the RAD to host Washington and Lee on Wednesday. Tip-off time is set for 5:00 p.m.