LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team returned to Giles Gymnasium on Saturday as it hosted Brevard College for the first time ever. The WildCats led from start to finish as they defeated the Tornados 79-56.
Randolph runs its winning streak to four games, which is its longest since the 2015-16 season. The WildCats improve to 7-5 overall while Brevard drops to 5-6.
"Loved the defensive effort to start today's game," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "Brevard runs their stuff and they run it fast - we really were concerned about our defensive communication and ability to guard 3, 4, 5 actions each possession. I think we started the game with great focus and intensity and were able to string together a bunch of possessions early against their stuff. In the second half we dropped the ball a few times but overall I think the defense was at an encouraging level."
It was an 8-7 contest at the 16:42 mark of the first half until Randolph went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 20-9 with 9:16 remaining in the period. The Tornados would close to seven points, 24-17, with 6:16 remaining, but a 14-2 WildCat run gave Randolph a 38-19 lead at halftime.
The 'Cats increased their lead to 20 points, 41-21, early in the second half. Their advantage grew to 21 points, 50-29, at the 15:13 mark. The Tornados slowly chipped away at their deficit as they used a 14-3 run to make it a 53-43 contest with under 11 minutes remaining to play. The score stood at 57-45 with 8:28 left. Seven straight points by the WildCats upped their advantage to 19 points, 64-45, exactly two minutes later. Randolph stayed out comfortably ahead the rest of the way.
The WildCats shot 41.7% overall (30-of-72) and from behind the three-point line (10-of-24). As a team, Randolph was 9-of-12 (75%) from the free throw line. Brevard was 22-of-66 (33.3%) overall and just 4-of-27 (14.8%) in three-point attempts. Randolph led in rebounds 53-39.
Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) led Randolph with 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out three assists. Ryan Davis (Erlanger, KY/Lloyd Memorial) scored a career-high 14 points going 5-of-6 overall and a perfect 4-for-4 in three-point attempts. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) added 12 points and six rebounds. Evan Wiehe (Northfield, OH/Nordonia) finished with nine points all coming via three-pointers and dished out four assists. Amari Gorham (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown) and Rayvon Graham (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) both scored eight points and combined for nine rebounds.
"Landon was a rock offensively for us in the first half," noted Hamilton. "They were switching everything and Landon was able to take advantage of some post mismatches within the flow. Our guys did a nice job of recognizing it and finding Landon with some nice post entry passes as well. Loved to see Ryan Davis break out and get it going offensively. He has done such a nice job on defensive assignments for us to this point in the year, and he works on his game so much - great to see him get it rolling from behind the three-point line. Amari Gorham was another guy that gave us a huge spark with his rebounding and the two dunks he was able to find. He can be a high-level defender and rebounder in any game we play - he just needs to keep being assertive to get to his drives and pivots offensively."
The WildCats travel to Carolina University to begin 2024 on Wednesday. Game time from Winston-Salem is at 7:00 p.m. "We hope to keep building on our defensive effort and keep cleaning up our offensive play as we head into 2024," said Hamilton.
