LYNCHBURG, Va.- It was a cross-city rivalry game befitting of what occurred during the game. Neither team had a big run or a big lead. Tight play throughout. Randolph and Lynchburg men's basketball adding another chapter to its history. In the end, the visiting Hornets pulled away from the Wildcats late in the second half to come away with an 82-77 win.
For Randolph, its record falls to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Lynchburg moves to 4-3 and 2-2 in the conference.
Randolph had its shooters ready to go as Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) and Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) both sank three-point baskets to give the WildCats at 6-2 lead at the 17:09 amrk. The 'Cats also made good on some early free throws due to Hornet fouls. Randolph grew its lead to eight points, 23-15, after CJ Loving (Madison Heights, Va./Amherst County) converted two free throws. Lynchburg was able to shave a few points off its deficit but the WildCats stayed out ahead. The game was tied at 31-31 with 5:33 remaining. Free throws and a layup by Bickey gave the 'Cats a 39-33 advantage with 3:22 left. Lynchburg made it a one-possession game with 1:43 remaining but another layup by Bickey with under a minute to play gave Randolph a 41-37 lead at the break.
In the second half, Lynchburg again would tie things up but the WildCats were able to stay out in front. The Hornets did take their first lead of the afternoon on a layup by TC Thacker with 13:21 showing on the game clock. Phillips-McLoyd answered with a three to give the WildCats the lead back and Thackers responded with a layup to tie the contest up again. The lead changed hands several more times and was tied twice.
Randolph was able to mount an 8-0 run to go up 70-62 with 5:15 left to play. Lynchburg's 15-2 run, however, was the different maker as the Hornets led 77-72 with 32 ticks left. Randolph was able to cut to within two after a layup and free throw by Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) with 20 seconds remaining to play. Needing to foul, the WildCats did so and free throws by Trey Pittman and Landon Sutton gave Lynchburg a five-point lead that was not enough for Randolph to overcome.
"This one stings" said head coach Pete Hamilton. "I think we're all disappointed that we couldn't close it out but I hope we can use it as some motivation and respond the right way next week. We've got a lot of daylight ahead of us to do some special things this season."
Lynchburg performed slightly better from the field as it was 29-of-67 (43.3%) compared to Randolph's 25-of-65 (38.5%). The Hornets outrebounded the WildCats 50-37. The 'Cats only committed 10 turnovers all game to the Hornets' 13 which gave Randolph a 14-9 advantage in points off turnovers. Randolph did control the paint with a 38-30 edge.
Bickey led the WildCats with 20 points. Loving added 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting and was 8-of-12 from the charity stripe. Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) also had 16 points. Justin Dula (Taylorsville, N.C./Alexander Central) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds while scoring five points, dishing out three assists, swiping two steals, and blocking one shot. Phillips-McLoyd finished with eight points.
"I felt great about how our guys executed our emphasis heading into the game," noted Hamilton. "We did a nice job getting them mismatched and finding some quality shots quickly into possessions with our pace on makes and misses. Unfortunately, some of the looks we've been getting recently that have fallen for us didn't go down as much tonight. We struggled to score in the paint after working out way in there, and probably could have cashed in on a few more 3's in the second half."
Randolph will travel to Washington and Lee on Wednesday night. Game time from Lexington is at 7:00 p.m.
"We're certainly discouraged today; but, I am excited to keep fighting with our group" said Hamilton.
