LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball hosted Ferrum in an ODAC matchup on Wednesday evening at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats had their second-highest shooting percentage game of the season as they fended off the Panthers 96-89.

The win, Randolph's second in row, improves the WildCats' overall record to 7-11 and 2-8 in ODAC play. The Panthers drop to 12-7 overall and 4-6 in the conference.

The first part of the first half was slow going as both teams struggled to find their shot. The game was tied 17-17 with 10:33 remaining in the period. Trailing 20-19, the 'Cats went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 28-20 with 5:35 showing on the game clock. Ferrum closed to within four points, 28-24, at under five minutes. Randolph would go up by as much as nine points, 36-27, with 3:10 on the clock. The Panthers closed to within five points, at 38-33, but the WildCats used a 7-2 run to close out the half and lead 45-35 at the break.

In the second half, the Randolph lead grew to 11 points, 59-48, with 14:21 showing on the game clock. The WildCats were up 68-56 at the 10:22 mark but the Panthers went on a 13-3 to make it a one-possession game, 71-69, with 7:24 remaining. Still trailing by two points, 77-75 at 5:07, Zavier Measmer made a three-point bucket to give Ferrum its first lead since 9:24 of the first half. Randolph answered with a three by Moustapha Diop (Fuquay Varina, N.C./Apex Friendship) to get the lead back at 80-78. It was part of a 7-0 run by the WildCats. Ferrum whittled the lead down to a point, 84-83, with 2:22 remaining. Back-to-back threes by Evan Wiehe (Cleveland, OH/Nordonia HS) and Bryce Watlington (Newport News, Va.) were part of an 8-0 run by the 'Cats that upped their advantage to nine points, 92-83 with 47 ticks left. Ferrum could not get any closer as Randolph's four free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the win.

The WildCats were 36-of-69 (52%) overall from the floor which was just .01% off their performance last week against Hampden-Sydney. Randolph went 10-of-29 (34.5%) from behind the three-point arc and 14-of-17 from the charity stripe. The WildCats had a slim 34-33 advantage in rebounds.

Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) led all scorers with 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting and dished out four assists to go with three rebounds, one block, and one steal. It was his fourth 30+ point game of the season. Diop finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Watlington and Amari Gorham (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown) both finished with nine points each.

Randolph travels to #25 Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday. Game time will be at 4:30 p.m.