LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team played its second game of the Wayne Proffitt Classic which was hosted by the University of Lynchburg on Wednesday afternoon. The WildCats trailed by as much as 13 points in the second half but fought back to overtake the Colonels and win 74-65.
The victory, Randolph's third straight and fourth in its last five, improves its record to 6-5 overall. Centre drops its record to 4-6.
The WildCats held a 9-6 lead early in the first half. Centre used a 15-3 run to go ahead 21-12 with 8:47 remaining in the period. A 7-0 Randolph run made it a one-possession contest, 21-19, with 5:15 left. The 'Cats trailed 31-26 with just over a minute remaining but the Colonels finished on a 4-0 run to lead 35-26 at halftime.
Randolph cut its deficit to two points, 47-45, with just over 13 minutes showing on the clock in the second half. Centre then went on an 11-0 run to go up 58-45 at the 10:14 mark. The WildCats then went on an 11-0 run of their own, aided by three-point baskets by Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School), Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson), and Evan Wiehe (Northfield, OH/Nordonia), to take a one-point lead, 59-58, with 6:41 remaining to play. Centre answered with a three by Cade Stinnett to take a 61-59 lead but Wiehe countered for the 'Cats with another three to wrestle the lead back for Randolph. Centre briefly grabbed the lead back and Wiehe again sank another three-pointer to give the WildCats a 65-63 edge. The Colonels knotted the score at 65-65 with 2:42 left to play but Randolph ended the game on a 9-0 run to come out with the victory.
As a team, the WildCats were 27-of-65 (41.5%) from the floor and made good on 12-of-34 (35.3%) baskets from behind the three-point arc. Randolph was also 8-of-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line. The WildCats led in second chance points 16-10 and received 26 bench points as opposed to 18 from Centre. The 'Cats won the rebounding battle 49-34.
"Loved the resolve our guys had today," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "We had such a physical battle last night - we knew it would be tough to match that intensity again less than 24 hours later. Unfortunately, we couldn't find that within us to start the game. Centre's zone caused some issues that created passive play and our defensive coverages were just a step late the whole first half. I'm so proud of how we just kept with it - we shortened the bench and guys just dug in and kept moving to the next play. Eventually we got some shots to fall and did a nice job on the offensive glass to open it up a little."
Four WildCats reached double figures led by Wiehe's 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Wagoner finished with a double-double effort of 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. He also had a blocked shot and a steal. Bickey added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Cole Perry (Salisbury, N.C./Jesse Carson HS) also had a double-double with 10 points scored and 11 rebounds to go with three assists, one block, and one steal. Ty Clingerman (Front Royal, Va./Skyline HS) dished out a team-high six assists.
"Landon Wagoner was huge for us in big moments," noted Hamilton. "He hit a few big three's during our run and his 13 rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers is an awesome line. Cole Perry really came on in the second half as well to get another double-double for us. Evan's three in the corner after a hustle play rebound was a huge one. Him and Landon communicated well for a quick one in the corner and it gave us some breathing room."
Randolph is idle until December 30 when it hosts Brevard College at Giles Gymnasium. Game time will be at 2:00 pm.
"We've got a long season ahead of us but I think we're starting to find a nice rhythm of who we can become," stated Hamilton.
