LEXINGTON, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball traveled to the Washington and Lee campus on Saturday to face the Generals. W&L was able to outlast the WildCats 94-88.
Both teams' records now sit at 3-4 overall. The Generals and 1-1 in the ODAC while Randolph is 0-2.
The game started out right for the WildCats as they got out to an 11-4 lead early in the first half. Washington and Lee began to chip away at the Randolph lead and took its first lead of the afternoon, 29-26 with 8:24 remaining in the half. The Generals led by as much as six points but the WildCats were able to whittle it down to a point as CJ Loving's (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County) jumper with time expiring made it 42-41 W&L at halftime.
The Washington and Lee lead grew to nine points, 58-49, at the 14:45 mark of the second half. A 16-7 run by Randolph tied the contest up at 65-all with 9:45 to play in regulation. W&L then used an 18-4 run to break the game open and took an 85-69 lead with 5:10 left to play. Despite being behind by double digits, Randolph did not give in as it would slash the Generals lead to just four points, 92-88, with 14 seconds remaining. Washington and Lee made a pair of free throws to end the scoring as they would hang on for the six-point win.
The WildCats shot 33-of-71 from the floor and were good on 8-of-19 (42.1%) three-point attempts. Washington and Lee was 38-of-68 (52.9%) and 10-of-31 from behind the three point arc. Rebounds favored the Generals 43-39.
"We were able to hit some good looks within the flow of our offense to stay in it," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "Started with Evan hitting some nice jumpers on switches and then stretched him and our other guards (Bickey, Jerry and Jordan) being able to make plays in space."
All but one starter reached double digits for Randolph. Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) and Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) both scored 20 points each to lead the WildCats. Bickey added eight rebounds. Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) added 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Loving and Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) added 11 points apiece with Loving coming down with six boards. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) secured a team best 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
"Really liked our balance offensively today," stated Hamilton. "Putting five guys in double figures is a great thing to see - I think it's part of what can make us dangerous as we move through the season. In order to achieve success with it we've got to shore up defensive focus. I thought our guys guarded and executed the defensive plan well in stretches - but the lapses ended up being the difference today."
Randolph hosts Averett in non-conference play on Wednesday night. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.
"This has been a disappointing week for us" said Hamilton, "but if we keep our minds on the behaviors we need to sustain and keep our head down we can put ourselves in a good place moving forward. Looking forward to two home games next week and hope to see the stands packed for both!"
