LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team returned to conference play as they hosted Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday evening. The WildCats shot a season-high 50.9% from the floor as they defeated the Marlins 75-62. Randolph improves to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the ODAC while Virginia Wesleyan drops to 11-2 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
It is just the fourth win in program history for Randolph over Virginia Wesleyan and the first since 2018. The victory is the first for the WildCats over the Marlins at home and the first regular season win.
"Really impressed with our guys grit and toughness tonight," said head coach Pete Hamilton. "Virginia Wesleyan is a great program - it takes a special effort to finish one against a team like that. Our toughness showed through rebounding and ball security throughout the game. I think those two stats were pivotal for us - to win the rebounding battle by 7 and only have 12 turnovers against a team that is that active and long is a great accomplishment for our guys. I thought we finished some plays tonight on the glass that we hadn't to this point in the season."
The Marlins scored the game's first basket but Randolph would get out ahead 8-4. With a one point lead, 8-7, at 16:21, the WildCats went on a 14-6 run to lead 22-13 with 11:41 remaining. VWU went on a brief 6-0 run to close to within three points, 22-19, with under 10 minutes remaining in the half. The 'Cats then used an 8-0 run to take a 30-19 lead with under seven minutes remaining. The Marlins then closed to six points, 30-24, with 3:30 left. The WildCats upped their lead back up to 11 points but the Marlins closed the deficit to seven at the break.
In the second half, Randolph kept ahead of the Marlins. While Virginia Wesleyan closed to six points, 44-38, at the 16:37 mark, the WildCats went on a 9-2 run to open up a 53-40 lead. The advantage grew to the biggest of the night, 57-42, with 10:18 remaining to play.
Randolph kept its double-digit lead until 3:36 remaining when Virginia Wesleyan closed to eight points. It was still an eight-point lead with under two minutes left to play but the WildCats closed out the game with five free throws to pull away and win by 13 points.
Randolph shot 28-of-55 overall and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from behind the three-point arc. The Marlins were 24-of-65 (36.9%) and 5-of-31 (16.1%) in three-point attempts. The WildCats controlled the boards 40-33.
Jerry Goodman (Suffolk, Va./Portsmouth Christian School) led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He also dished out five assists. Danny Bickey (Beckley, W.V./Woodrow Wilson) added 15 points. Cole Perry (Salisbury, N.C./Jesse Carson) was a rebound short of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds to go with three assists. Landon Wagoner (Martinsville, Va./Carlisle School) contributed seven points and five rebounds.
Randolph travels to Eastern Mennonite on Saturday. Game time is at 4:30 p.m.