HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team went on the road to face Hampden-Sydney in a mid-week Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup. The Tigers used a late run in the second half to pull away from the WildCats and win 61-53.
H-SC improves to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the ODAC. Randolph falls to 6-11 and 2-6 in the conference.
Brian Smith (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) led the 'Cats with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds. He was 3-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc and in the process became the career three-point field goal leader in program history as he topped current head coach Pete Hamilton.
"First of all, really proud of Brian Smith and his accomplishment tonight," noted Coach Hamilton. "I know he would trade breaking the record tonight for a W but he deserves recognition on a hell of a career milestone. I think it speaks to his consistency and growth over his career. He's always proven to be a reliable player for us and being that reliable player has put him in situations to break records. I'm really happy for him!"
In the first half, the game was tied at 8-8 with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the half. The Tigers used a 9-2 run to go ahead 17-10 with exactly seven minutes showing on the game clock but an 11-2 WildCat run gave Randolph a 21-19 lead at 3:26. The 'Cats led 25-23 with four ticks showing but Hampden-Sydney's Chase Turner swished a three-pointer with time expiring as the Tigers went up 26-25.
Randolph was able to take the lead back early on in the second half and had its biggest lead of the night, 31-26, at 18:11. The WildCats were still ahead by five at 16:41 but the Tigers used a 12-1 run to go up on top 43-36 with 10:16 remaining to play.
The WildCats narrowed their deficit to one point after a three by Smith made the score 46-45 H-SC at 7:27. It was a two-possession contest with 1:04 remaining and the Tigers ahead 56-51. Hampden-Sydney converted five of six free throw attempts in the final 40 seconds to secure the win.
"As for the game, I think it was just a story of some miscues on our end," said Hamilton. "We really played our game plan almost to a T for 40 minutes. Our pace slowed some in the second half and the ball screens gave us some confusion for a short stretch but for the most part I was happy with how we dictated the game."
Randolph edged out Hampden-Sydney in field goal percentage 36.2%-34.4%. The WildCats also performed better in three-point shooting as they were 6-of-25 compared to the Tigers 4-of-21. The difference came from the foul line as the 'Cats were 5-of-13 and the Tigers 15-of-20.
Justin Dula (Taylorsville, N.C./Alexander Central) was the other WildCat in double figures as he scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) added nine points. CJ Loving (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County) and Avery Payne (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg) both had four points and seven rebounds each.
"Avery Payne was a bright spot for us tonight," stated Hamilton. "He played his role almost flawlessly. Seven boards in 15 minutes and going 2-4 from the field is a great night for us to get out of him. He has grown so much throughout his career and I don't think he's done yet with his improvement."
Randolph hosts Emory and Henry this coming Saturday at the RAD. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.
