Arianna Gerig scored seven of her game-high 27 points in Williams' game-winning rally past No. 9 Gettysburg. Williams College athletics file photo by Anika Goodhue

Holiday matchups often produce surprising results, and Friday continued that trend as the Yellow Jackets, Blue Streaks and Purple Cows topped ranked opponents. 

• Friday scoreboard: Men | Women
• Team of the Week: A Viking, a Blazer, and a Fightin’ Engineer
• More men’s headlines
• More women’s headlines

In a game between two teams that have already swapped places once this season, Randolph-Macon flipped the script again by beating No. 11 UW-Stevens Point, 51-50.

The Yellow Jackets opened the season ranked seventh before losing three of their first six games and falling out of the rankings. UW-Stevens Point rose from “also receiving votes” to the Top 15 by winning its first nine games.

Despite the poll placement disparity, Friday’s game in Charlotte was evenly played. Randolph-Macon led 50-48 with 15 seconds left when Darius Bolden pulled UW-Stevens Point even with a layup. The Yellow Jackets got the ball to Amr Areikat who was fouled with no time remaining. He sank the game-winning free throw to lift the Yellow Jackets to their third consecutive win.

Both teams struggled to score, especially from outside. Randolph-Macon shot 4 for 23 from three (17.4 percent) while the Pointers (9-1) were 4 for 14. But the Yellow Jackets (6-3) managed to outscore UW-Stevens Point 30-18 in the paint.

No. 18 Christopher Newport avoided a similar fate against Elmhurst when Tyler Henderson got a late steal-and-score to lift the Captains over the Bluejays, 82-80. After Henderson’s basket gave CNU a four-point lead with 24 seconds left, Elmhurst responded with a Tagen Pearson three and had a chance to tie the game at the line, but split two free throws. The Captains then split two free throws but grabbed the offensive rebound off their miss, sealing the win.

Toa Hollenbeck posted 21 points and Ethan Ward added a double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) for Christopher Newport (10-3).

John Carroll did not need any late-game heroics to score a win at No. 7 Hampden-Sydney, as the Blue Streaks pulled away from the Tigers for a relatively comfortable 74-61 win. The game was close until John Carroll ripped off 15 straight points and took a 65-49 advantage into the closing minutes. John Carroll shot 59 percent while holding the Tigers to 26 percent shooting in the second half.

David Gentry led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds for John Carroll (5-4) which pushed its record back over .500 after losing four straight.

On the women’s side, Williams used its defense to flip a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 56-54 upset over previously unbeaten No. 9 Gettysburg at the Cruzin’ Classic.

After Shinya Lee’s layup staked the Bullets to a 52-42 lead, the Ephs got seven straight points from Arianna Gerig and a game-tying three from Ellie Tounkara. Gettysburg snapped the Ephs’ run with two free throws, but that was the Bullets’ last points of the afternoon. Micah Walton scored on consecutive possessions and Gerig put the game away with two late free throws.

Gerig finished with 27 points, giving her 53 in two games for Williams (7-3). Lee posted a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) for Gettysburg (9-1).

Gettysburg’s loss is the fifth of the week for teams in the Top 10, as No. 2 Wartburg and No. 10 Ohio Wesleyan dropped two games each.

Lawrence edged DePauw 58-57 at the Daytona Beach Shootout thanks to a late three-point play by Mallory Meyer. Her three-point play put the Vikings in front 54-53 with a minute left and Lawrence (7-3) held off the Tigers. Meyer finished with 12 points and Kate Adams added 13 more off Lawrence’s bench.

The Green Knights got red hot from outside, and St. Norbert edged Carroll, 69-65, for its seventh win of the season. St. Norbert shot 11 for 19 from three, as Carly Jepson scored a career-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers.