LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team hosted its first game of the 2021-22 season on Wednesday night as the WildCats welcomed Mary Baldwin to Giles Gymnasium. Randolph gave its home fans something to cheer for and then some as the WildCats outscored the Fighting Squirrels 119-115 in overtime.
The win improves the WildCats' record to 3-1. It is the team's best start through four games since the 2015-16 season. The 119 points scored sets a new Randolph team record.
"We were able to figure it out and I think there's something to be said for that," said head coach Pete Hamilton after the game. "Very proud of the way we were able to stick together when things weren't always going our way. I hope it was a fun game to watch – the crowd was great and the atmosphere was a fun one to be a part of. We appreciate the support from the community and I'm glad we could give them something to cheer about tonight."
Randolph led 10-8 with 15:23 remaining in the first period. Mary Baldwin went on an 8-2 run to lead 18-10 with exactly 11 minutes remaining. The Fighting Squirrels upped their lead to 11 points, 35-24, with 5:21 left on the clock. An 11-0 WildCat run tied the game up at 35-35 with 3:09 on the game clock. Mary Baldwin went ahead by five points with a little over two minutes to play but Randolph cut the deficit down and trailed by a point, 46-45, at halftime.
The WildCats led 58-56 just under the 16-minute mark of the second half. Randolph then went on a 15-4 run to take its biggest lead of the night, 73-60, with 11:36 remaining on the clock. While the WildCat lead was reduced to as much as seven points, Randolph led by double digits, 89-78 with 6:33 to play in the half. Mary Baldwin fought its way back as it erased its deficit and led for the first time in the period, 97-96, with 1:15 remaining. The team would exchange leads with Mary Baldwin leading 101-100 with 22 second left. A foul on the Fighting Squirrels' Jaden Ignacio put Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) on the free throw line. Phillips-McLoyd made his first attempt to tie the contest at 101-101 and missed his second attempt. Mary Baldwin picked up the rebound and missed a potential game winning shot as the game went to an extra period.
In overtime, Mary Baldwin sank a three-point basket to go up 104-101. A jumper by Seth Hildebrand (Evington, Va./Liberty Christian) got the WildCats to 104-103 and following a missed Mary Baldwin layup, Evan Makle's (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) three-point bucket gave Randolph a 106-104 lead. The Fighting Squirrels regained the lead with another three but Makle would be fouled attempting a three and went to the line for three free throws. He made all three to give Randolph a 109-107 advantage.
Randolph trailed 115-114 with 52 seconds remaining in overtime. A three-pointer by Phillips-McLoyd ignited the crowd and put the 'Cats ahead 117-115. The Fighting Squirrels missed a pair of three –point attempts and Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) made two free throws at the end to seal the WildCat win.
Both teams shot over 50% from the field with Randolph edging out Mary Baldwin 53.7% to 51.1%. Randolph was 44-of-82 from the floor. The 44 made field goals are the second-most in a game while the 82 attempts set a new game record. The WildCats were 12-of-20 (60%) from behind the three-point arc compared to 13-of-37 (35.1%) for Mary Baldwin.
Randolph outrebounded Mary Baldwin 50-43. The WildCats were effective in second chance points as they outscored the Fighting Squirrels 14-8. Randolph got strong contributions from its bench as it outscored MBU's 29-6.
CJ Loving (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County) scored a career-high 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting. He was one point from tying the Randolph game record. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double and dished out three assists.
Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) also had a career performance with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He added eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Phillips-McLoyd contribuited 13 points. Makle and Hildebrand both finished with 12 points. Makle also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) secured eight rebounds. Goodman finishefd with nine points and five assists.
"Proud of multiple efforts tonight from the guys," noted Hamilton. "Obviously CJ had a monster night for us. He got to his spots, we did a nice job of finding him in his mid-areas, and he played downhill. Our guard play came up huge for us in the second half. Bickey, Evan and Jordan each had a nice run for us in spurts – we certainly don't get out of here tonight with a W if they don't hit some of the shots they hit."
"Extremely proud of three of our freshman tonight as well. Seth Hildebrand came up huge – 27 minutes as a first-year going 6-10 from the field. He gave us some huge minutes when we needed to keep smaller lineups out there. Joe Peters and Hunter Verling gave us great energy in their minutes – they knew the role we needed from them and played it well."
Randolph hosts Mary Washington this coming Monday. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.
