HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team took to the road on Wednesday for a short trip to Hampden-Sydney. Both teams played a tight contest throughout the night but the WIldCats fell just short of victory as the Tigers would win 73-72.
Randolph drops to 3-9 overall on the season and 0-4 in the ODAC. HS-C improves to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
"Unbelievable college basketball game tonight, said head coach Pete Hamilton after the game. "I don't think that is said enough when teams lose - but it's true of this one. I'm so proud of our guys and the spirit and character they showed when we had a lot of excuses to stop."
Neither team had a lead greater than four points in the first half. Randolph led 30-26 after a three-point basket by Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) with 5:18 remaining. The Tigers converted a pair of free throws and then a layup by Davidson Hubbard tied the game at 30-30 with 4:48 showing on the clock. That would be the last field goal by either team as the WildCats were 0-8 and Hampden-Sydney 0-7 in the final 4:03 as score remained tied at halftime.
In the second half, Randolph took its biggest lead of the night, 49-44, with 13:19 to go in the half. The Tigers used a 15-0 run to break away and take their biggest lead of the evening, 59-49, with 9:42 remaining to play. Randolph would go on an 18-5 run to come storming back and go up 67-64 with 4:46 left. Hampden-Sydney led 71-67 with 3:12 to play and held the same advantage with just three seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) made a three at the buzzer but it was not enough to overtake the Tigers in the end.
"Our guys emptied their tanks tonight," said Hamilton. "We were limited in our rotations and there was never a thought of frustration. We talked the past two days and leading up to the game tonight about being a pack and living as a pack-we did that tonight. In an extremely physical game, our guys worked to take the right shots for the right guys time after time. Jerry Goodman set the table for us making plays and driving extremely physical perimeter plays."
Randolph finished the game going 28-of-65 (43.1%) from the floor and 14-of-33 (42.4%) from behind the three-point arc. The WildCats only attempted three free throw shots and were 2-of-3. The WildCats had the rebounding edge 39-38.
Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He was 7-of-14 in three-point attempts which set a new Randolph game record for three-point baskets made. Bickey added 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Goodman finished with 10 points and a career-high eight assists. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds to go with seven points.
"Jordan McLoyd hit some huge shots for us and his confidence spread to others," noted Hamilton. "When he gets going the way he did tonight, he's a tough one to matchup with - Jordan's teammates did a phenomenal job of being selfless and continuing to put him in scoring areas. Cole Perry came back after just a practice and a half since December to give us great energy and effort. Proud of Murphy Clingerman and Landon Wagoner as well. They played a role that was needed tonight and filled in for CJ and Seth missing with rebounding and hustle plays. Landon will continue to grow and I believe you'll see his abilities to score even more as we move forward."
Randolph hosts Shenandoah this coming Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
"We're in a frustrating place right now in terms of results," said Hamilton. "I wouldn't rather be going through this with anyone other than the guys in our locker room."
