LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team hosted Averett on Friday evening at Giles Gymnasium. Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) set a new WildCat game record for points and the game went into an extra period where the Cougars were able to get by the WildCats 83-80
Randolph evens its overall record at 7-7 and is 1-4 in the ODAC. Averett improves to 3-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
Bickey finished the night with 38 points on 14-of-24 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. His 38 points tops the previous mark of 36 that was set three times most recently by Ryan Fields in 2017.
"Bickey was unbelievable," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "Setting the program record for points scored in a game against a defense that was extremely physical on and off the ball with him for 40 minutes is impressive. Our guys on the floor did an excellent job of realizing Averett was switching some two-man game actions and they communicated well to get Bickey with the right matchup to attack when he got going."
Randolph got out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first quarter before Averett answered with back-to-back threes to go ahead 6-5. With the score knotted at 12-12, the Cougars went on a 13-4 run to take a 25-16 lead with 7:14 remaining in the half. The WildCats closed to within three points but AU pushed ahead with a 9-0 run to make the score 36-24. Averett led 38-28 at the break.
"We couldn't buy a bucket in the first half," stated Hamilton. "I think it affected our defense to a degree and we let them get some downhill drives that we tried to gameplan against. I thought we were being tough offensively and cutting well but just weren't getting some looks to go down to loosen them up and get us a little confidence. I loved how our guys just stayed the course and eventually broke through. The game turned because our defensive and rebounding effort never wavered - which is a hard thing to do when you're not making shots."
In the second half, a three by Bickey got the WildCats to within nine points, 42-33. Averett's 9-0 run gave it its biggest lead of the night, 51-33, with 14:10 remaining to play. Despite the double-digit deficit, the 'Cats clawed their way back. A 21-5 run by Randolph got the WildCats to within two points, 56-54, with under eight minutes remaining in regulation.
Randolph knotted the score at 60-60 with 5:53 showing on the clock. Averett eventually upped its advantage to five points, 70-65, with 2:23 left to play. The WildCats still trained 72-68 with 1:11 left. A jump shot by Bickey followed a pair of free throws by Amari Gorham (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown) knotted the score at 72-72 with eight ticks left and the game went into overtime.
In the overtime period, it was a two-possession contest, 76-72, with 2:40 showing on the game clock. Randolph tied it twice with the final time, 80-80, coming with 38 seconds left to play. The Cougars converted three free throws in the final 21 seconds and a last second three-point attempt by Evan Wiehe (Northfield, OH/Nordonia) was off the mark as Averett came away with the win.
"Unbelievably proud of the fight we had tonight," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "It's a tough one to swallow that this one didn't bounce our way at the end - but we can't sit here and say it had anything to do with effort and passion to go make a play. Those first two possessions for us offensively of the overtime were perfect but we came away with 0 points - I think if we connect on both of those plays the story of overtime is completely different. College basketball can be so rewarding but some nights it can also feel like it takes everything from you - unfortunately that's the feeling we're sitting with because of the scoreboard at the end."
Randolph shot 26-of-66 (39.4%) overall and 8-of-26 (30.8%) from behind the three-point arc. As a team, the WildCats were 20-of-23 from the charity stripe. Averett was 28-of-62 overall (45.2%) and 9-of-19 (47.4%) in three-point attempts. The Cougars were 18-of-22 (81.8%) in free throw attempts. Averett led in rebounds 42-36.
Cole Perry (Salisbury, N.C./Jesse Carson HS) scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Gorham finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Wiehe put up eight points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
"Amari Gorham and Ryan Davis were absolutely huge for us," said Hamilton. "Defensively, they were great guarding an all-league caliber player. Ryan hit a big three as we started our run in the second half and Amari sought out some matchups to drive and to his credit hit some HUGE free throws for a freshman in a tight game."
Randolph travels to Guilford on Wednesday. Game time from Greensboro, N.C. is at 7:00 p.m.
