LYNCHBURG, Va.- Another game in the Lynchburg-Randolph men's basketball series commenced on Wednesday night as the WildCats hosted their first game of 2020. The Hornets went on a run midway through the second half to break open a tight contest as they won by the score of 82-69.
The win, the fifth in a row for Lynchburg over Randolph, gives the Hornets an overall record of 9-5 and a 4-1 mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The WildCats fall to 5-9 and 1-4 in the conference.
Lynchburg got out to a big lead in the early stages of the first half as it led 11-3 at the 14:31 mark. A 7-2 run by the WildCats got them to within three points, 13-10, at 13:12. The Hornets went on another run to up their lead to nine but an 11-2 Randolph run gave the 'Cats their first lead of the game, 28-27, with 4:05 remaining in the half. The WildCat lead was short-lived as Lynchburg grabbed it back and were ahead 36-34 at the break.
Randolph kept the pressure on early in the second half as it got to within two points of tying, 44-42, at 16:52. The Hornets pushed their advantage to seven points but the 'Cats were able to whittle it down to three, 49-46, at 12:48. Lynchburg then went on its game-changing 27-7 run that put it ahead 74-52 with under five minutes to play. The WildCats were able to cut the deficit down to 13 points but the game was well in hand by then.
The two teams were nearly even in shooting in the first half but Lynchburg went 19-of-33 (57.6%) in the second half while Randolph was 14-of-35 (40%). The Hornets controlled the paint 44-32 and also had a 19-9 lead in second-chance points. Lynchburg controlled the boards 43-28.
"Really liked our execution and gameplan in the first half tonight and really for the majority of the game," said head coach Pete Hamilton afterwards. "Lynchburg is a very dynamic team and the danger with them is always that they can flip a game in a very quick run. They did that tonight in the second half and we weren't able to bounce back from it."
Tyren Hairston (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth High) led the WildCats with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 19 minutes off of the bench. CJ Loving (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County) and Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) both scored 12 points. Loving added five rebounds and two assists while Makle picked up two rebounds, one assist, and on steal. Avery Payne (Charlotte, N.C./East Mecklenburg) chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Brian Smith (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) finished with nine points, four rebounds, and two steals.
"Ty Hairston showed some flashes of what he could bring us the rest of the season,"noted Hamilton. "I'm happy for him and hope he can keep growing from the role he played tonight. Avery Payne did an excellent job on both ends for us against a bigger team."
Randolph heads to Harrisonburg on Saturday to face Eastern Mennonite. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.
