LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team hosted Mary Baldwin on Tuesday evening at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats came back from a 20-point deficit in the second half but fell short in the end as the Fighting Squirrels won by the score of 78-75.

MBU led 5-0 less than a minute into the first half. Steven Burgess Jr. (Couer d'Alene, ID/Couer d'Alene HS) got Randolph on the board with a three-point bucket to cut the deficit to two points. It was a two-point contest, 14-12, in Mary Baldwin's favor with 13:38 showing on the game clock. MBU went on an 8-1 run to go ahead 22-13 with 10:06 remaining in the period. Randolph's 7-0 run cut it down to 22-20 with exactly eight minutes left. It was 26-23 in Mary Baldwin's favor with 6:50 showing on the game clock and the Fighting Squirrels would go on to lead 40-30 at the break.

In the second half, MBU started off with a 7-2 run to up their lead to 16 points, 46-30, at 18:15. The Fighting Squirrels maintained their double-digit lead as it grew to 20 points, 55-35, with 12:28 left to play. Randolph's 22-5 run that spanned nearly four minutes of game time made it a one-possession game, 64-62, with 4:50 left. MBU would add back to its lead as it was ahead 75-67 with 1:24 left to play. The WildCats moved to within a point of tying after three-point shots by Elijah Cox (Galax, Va./Carroll County) and Viktor Parson (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) made it 76-75 with five seconds remaining. Mary Baldwin converted a pair of free throws to make the score 78-75 and a last second three-point heave from Burgess Jr. fell short as the Fighting Squirrels held on for the win.

In the game, Randolph was 26-of-61 (42.6%) overall and 9-of-28 (32.1%) in three-point attempts. MBU was 27-of-61 (44.3%) from the floor and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from behind the three-point arc. The Fighting Squirrels led in rebounds 42-38.

Four WildCats reached double digits led by Parson's 17 points. TJ James Jr. (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem HS) finished with 16 points and was 4-of-9 in three-pointers made. Burgess Jr. added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Cox chipped in 13 points and five rebounds. Trey Miller (Virginia Beach, Va./Green Run HS) led the team in rebounds with eight.

Randolph travels to Regent this Saturday. Game time from Virginia Beach will be at 3:00 p.m.