Lynchburg Reporter

Men’s Basketball Falls to Hampden-Sydney At Giles Gym

The Randolph men's basketball team hosted Hampden-Sydney on Wednesday evening at Giles Gymnasium. The Tigers pulled away from the WildCats with a big second half as they won 86-67.

The score was close early in the first half. Randolph led 10-6 with 15:25 remaining. The Tigers then went on an 18-7 run to go ahead 24-16 with 9:11 left on the clock. The WildCats were able to close to within a basket with an 8-2 run. The score stood at 29-26 in Hampden-Sydney's favor with 6:17 remaining. Neither team would score again until 2:43 left in the period as HS-C went on a 6-0 run to lead 35-26 at halftime.

The WildCats started out strong in the second half with a 14-6 run to get to within a point, 41-40, at 16:18. Each time the Tigers added to their lead, Randolph had an answer as they trailed 50-47 with 13:18 remaining. Hampden-Sydney's 12-5 run gave it a 10-point advantage, 62-52, with 10:32 left.

Randolph cut its deficit in half, 62-57, with 9:39 remaining to play. The Tigers, however, went on a game-changing 22-4 run that spanned nearly five minutes of game time as the score was 84-62 in the Tigers favor with 4:38 left to play.

"Just let go of the rope early against a really good team," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "I think Hampden Sydney did a great job of staying physical with us and we reached a point where our response became inconsistent to it."

The WildCats were 24-of-56 (42.9%) from the floor and 8-of-21 (38.1%) in three-point attempts. Randolph performed well from the free throw line as the WildCats were 11-of-13 (84.6%). Hampden-Sydney made 35-of-71 (49.3%) from the floor and 10-of-29 (34.5%) from behind the three-point arc. Randolph had a slight edge in rebounds 35-33.

Jordan Phillips-McLoyd (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill) scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) added 17 points. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) led in rebounds with eight.

"Micah Crider is continuing to grow into what I feel can be a very special player for us throughout his career," noted Hamilton.  "He sees the game well and can go rebound it with anybody.  He had some great drives today when they were focusing on our guards. Rayvon did a nice job again bringing us a boost off the bench.  The past two games he's been a part of some very effective lineups when we go to our zone."

Randolph hosts Shenandoah on Saturday. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.

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