ASHLAND, Va. - Freshman Korey Turner (Midlothian, Va./Amelia Academy) snapped a 67-67 tie with a three-pointer with one minute remaining and sank two free throws with 11 seconds left as the Randolph-Macon men's basketball team edged Lynchburg 72-70 in ODAC action Saturday afternoon in front of 1,074 fans in Crenshaw Gymnasium for its ninth straight victory.
With Guilford's loss at home to Hampden-Sydney, the Yellow Jackets (12-5, 8-0 ODAC) took sole possession of first place in the conference.
Turner and sophomore Darryl Williams (Columbia, Md./Glenelg Country) combined to go 9 for 9 from the floor and 8 for 8 from three-point range. Williams paced the Yellow Jackets with 17 points, going 5 for 5 on triples and 2 for 4 from the free throw line. Turner was 4 for 4 from the floor, 3 for 3 on treys and 4 for 4 from the foul line for 15 points.
The Hornets (10-7, 4-4 ODAC) made a layup with just under two minutes remaining to put the visitors up 65-64. Williams sank his fifth three-pointer with 1:33 left to put R-MC on top 67-65, the 20th lead change of the game. LC converted a layup 15 seconds later to level the score at 67-67. Turner buried a trey with one minute left as the Yellow Jackets went on top 70-67. Junior Daniel Noe (Fairfax, Va./Bishop Ireton) assisted on each of the final two treys. The Hornets had a turnover and a missed shot on their next two possessions. Williams grabbed the rebound on the miss and Turner was fouled with 11 seconds remaining. The freshman sank both shots to put the home team up 72-67. Zack Burnett hit a long three-pointer for LC with four seconds left to pull the Hornets within two at 72-70. R-MC got the ball inbounds and was able to run out the clock to preserve the victory.
Noe had a pair of layups as the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead in the first 2:30 of the contest. The Hornets used an 11-2 run to take a 14-11 edge with 15:15 left in the first half. Williams hit a pair of treys to cap a 10-0 spurt as R-MC went ahead 21-14 with 12 minutes remaining. LC put together a 12-3 run to go up 26-24 with seven minutes left. R-MC had a 33-32 lead before the Hornets had the final two buckets of the first half to take a 36-33 advantage to the locker room at intermission. Williams had eight first-half points, while Turner added seven with three assists.
Burnett hit a jumper in the first minute of the second half as LC took its largest lead at 38-33. Turner capped an 18-4 spurt with a three-pointer as R-MC built its biggest lead at 51-42 with 11:45 remaining. The Hornets scored 10 straight to reclaim the advantage at 52-51 with 8:45 left. The teams stayed within four points before the Yellow Jackets pulled it out in the final two minutes.
The R-MC defense held LC to 15 points below its season average and its third-lowest point total of the season as well as its lowest total in a conference game.
Noe and senior Michael Taylor (Apex, North Carolina/Grace Christian) both had eight points, while sophomore Grayson Midulla added seven. Turner led the victors with six assists, while Taylor chipped in five.
R-MC held a 33-32 advantage on the boards. Sophomore Montese Adams (Richmond, Va./Fuqua) pulled down eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Wednesday, January 25 for an 8 p.m. ODAC contest at Virginia Wesleyan.