SALEM, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team began ODAC play on Tuesday as the WildCats faced Roanoke at the Cregger Center. The 'Cats battled with the Maroons through out the game but fell short in the end as the Maroons won by the score of 88-82.
The score was tied 13-13 with 12:13 remaining in the first half. Randolph went on an 8-3 run to go ahead 21-16 at the 10:41 mark. The Maroons came back to tie the game at 23-all but a three-point basket by Viktor Parson (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) with 7:33 left in the first half gave the 'Cats a 26-23 lead. Roanoke would come back to regain the lead and led by as many as six points, 41-35, with 1:16 left. Elijah Cox's (Galax, Va./Carroll County) three-pointer with 1:08 to play in the half cut the WildCat deficit to three points, 41-38, at halftime.
The WildCats started the second half strong as they went on a 12-2 run to go ahead 50-43 aided by eight points by Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School). While the Maroons cut into the Randolph lead, the WildCats still stayed out in front. The score would be tied 58-58 with 11:16 remaining in regulation. The lead would change hands three times in the next two minutes with two ties. With the score knotted at 65-all and under seven minutes remaining in the game, Roanoke went on a game-changing 17-8 run to take its biggest lead of the night, 82-73, with 1:42 remaining. Randolph closed to a two-possession game but could not get any closer as the Maroons hung on for the win.
Randolph was 27-of-60 (45%) from the field and made 9-of-27 (33.3%) attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Roanoke went 26-of-53 (49.1%) overall and 6-of-16 (37.5%) in three-point attempts. The WildCats edged out the Maroons on the boards, 37-36.
Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) led all scorers with 33 points on 8-of-19 shooting. He was 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. Phillips-McLoyd dished out six assists and came down with four rebounds. Wagoner finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Amari Gorham (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown) scored 10 points to go with four rebounds and two blocks.
Randolph returns to Giles Gymnasium on Saturday as they host Johnson and Wales. Game time will be at 4:00 p.m.
