ROCKY MOUNT, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team began its season on the road at North Carolina Wesleyan on Wednesday evening. The Battling Bishops won by the score of 78-67.
Randolph had an early 7-5 lead in the first half and the score was tied twice early on. With the game knotted at 12-12, the Battling Bishops went on an 11-2 run to take a 23-14 lead with 11:19 remaining in the half. Randolph rallied to cut its deficit to five points, 23-18, with exactly 11 minutes showing on the game clock. N.C. Wesleyan added to its lead and was up by 12 points as late as 2:37 left to play in the half. The score was 41-30 in the Battling Bishops' favor at halftime.
In the second half, the WildCats trailed by nine points, 45-36, with 17:47 on the clock. N.C. Wesleyan went on an 8-0 run to take a 53-36 lead at the 15:33 mark. The double-digit advantage stood until 10:38 as the WildCats chipped away with a 13-5 run to close to within nine points, 58-49. Randolph could get no closer than nine points as the Battling Bishops stayed out in front for the remainder of the period.
Randolph was 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the floor and just 3-of-13 (23.1%) from behind the three-point arc. The WildCats were edged by the Battling Bishops in rebounds 39-35.
"I really think we can build on tonight," said head coach Pete Hamilton after the game. "Disappointing start - they really jumped on us physically and I think we let the pressure and atmosphere get in the way of settling in. 13 of our 16 turnovers were in the first half - tough to climb out of that hole on the road. We had a few rebounds and just 2-3 poor defensive plays right there where we could have taken it from a four to five possession game to a two- possession game."
Rayvon Graham (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) led the WildCats with 14 points and dished out four assists. Cole Perry (Salisbury, N.C./Jesse Carson HS) added 10 points and six rebounds. Nehemiah Frye (King George, Va./King George) scored nine points in his collegiate debut.
Randolph will return to the floor next Wednesday when it travels to Willam Peace. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.
