LEXINGTON, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team travelled up to Lexington to face Washington and Lee in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game on Wednesday. The WildCats kept pace with the Generals in the first half but W&L was too much for the 'Cats to handle at it won 86-65.
The WildCats fall to 3-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play. Washington and Lee improves to 4-1 overall and in the conference.
Randolph fell behind 10-0 early in the first half. After calling a timeout, the 'Cats looked rejuvenated as they went on an 8-0 run to close the score to 10-8. After the Generals went up by eight points, 18-10, at 12:36, the WildCats went on a 15-4 run to go ahead 25-22 with 8:26 remaining in the half. Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) scored 10 of Randolph's points during the run. The 'Cats held on to a 27-26 lead with a little under seven minutes remaining until halftime. A 15-5 W&L run to close out the half, however, gave the home team a 41-32 advantage.
Washington and Lee continued to add it its lead in the beginning stages of the second half as Richie Manigault scored on three consecutive layups to increase the General lead to 47-32. Randolph got as close as 11 points, 51-40, at 16:25 but W&L stayed comfortably ahead throughout the second half.
Randolph shot just over 46% (6-of-13) from behind the three-point arc in the first half but was only good on 25% (3-of-12) in the second half. Phillips McLoyd was 3-for-7 in three-point attempts while Evan Makle (Dumfries, Va./Christ Chapel Academy) went 4-of-11.
Both teams committed 18 turnovers on the night. W&L was able to score 17 points off of Randolph's miscues while the WildCats scored 15 off the Generals mistakes.
Phillips-McLoyd led the 'Cats with 19 points and also grabbed four rebounds. Makle added 18 points and three rebounds. Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) added 10 points and three steals.
Randolph is back at Giles Gymnasium on Saturday as its hosts Emory and Henry. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.
