LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team hosted North Carolina Wesleyan in their season opener on Saturday afternoon at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats held a lead on the Battling Bishops early in the second half but NC. Wesleyan came back to overtake the WildCats and win 77-73.
Randolph started the game hot out of the gate as they made back-to-back three-point baskets and tacked on a layup to lead 8-0 just over two minutes into the contest. The WildCats led 15-5 with under 15 minutes left on the game clock but the Bishops went on a 9-2 run to make it 17-14 at 10:31. After a three-point basket by TJ James Jr. (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem HS) put the 'Cats ahead 20-14, N.C Wesleyan tied it up at 20-20 with a 6-0 run. Randolph then used a 13-2 run to go ahead by double-digits, 33-22, with 3:12 left on the clock. N.C. Wesleyan finished off the half on a 10-2 run to close to within three points, 35-32, at halftime.
The WildCats scored the first two baskets of the second half to go ahead 39-32. Randolph would push its lead to 12 points, 51-39, at 14:22. N.C. Wesleyan then went on a 11-0 run to close to within a point at 51-50 at 11:49. NCWU tied the contest up at 54-54 with under 10 minutes left to play. The WildCats went ahead by three with a pair of free throws by Aveion Tucker (Newport News, Va./Woodside HS) and a free throw by James Jr. The lead changed hands three more times with the final time coming with 5:18 left to play.
The Battling Bishops led 67-62 with 4:31 showing on the game clock. Jump shots by Tucker and Viktor Parson (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) cut the Randolph deficit to a point. NCWU's Justin Burden then scored five straight points to make it a two-possession game with 2:03 remaining to play. The WildCats closed to within three points with 20 ticks left but the Battling Bishops held off the WildCats in the end.
Overall, Randolph was 27-of-56 (48.2%) from the field. The team was 5-of-24 (20.8%) from behind the three-point arc and 0-for-11 in the second half. North Carolina Wesleyan was 25-of-59 (42.4%) overall and 3-of-16 (18.8%) in three-point baskets made. The Battling Bishops were also 24-of-29 (82.8%) from behind the charity stripe.
Parson led the WildCats with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also had four rebounds and three assists. Tucker finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Khalil Caple (Suffolk, Va./Kings Fork HS) scored 10 points, came down with six rebounds, and dished out two assists.
Randolph is back on the floor tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Regent. Game time is at 2:00 p.m.
