ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. — Junior guard Eric Pugh (Silver Spring, Md./James Blake) notched 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to propel Randolph-Macon to the program's first-ever "Final Four" as the No. 16 Yellow Jackets posted a 73-65 triumph over No. 18 Franklin & Marshall in Saturday night's NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship sectional final.
Randolph-Macon (26-6) advances to next weekend's "Final Four" at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. and awaits the winner of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Illinois Wesleyan College as that game was not final at the time this release.
Joining Pugh in double-digits were junior forward Danny Jones (Herndon, Va./Herndon) with 14 off the bench and sophomore guard Calvin Croskey (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) with 10 points.
Randolph-Macon's sharpshooting continued tonight as the Yellow Jackets knocked down 11 three-pointers (out of 20 tries) with Pugh reining in 5-of-7, including 3-of-4 in the second half, while locking down the Franklin & Marshall perimeter shooters to just 1-of-9 from downtown. In its 68-55 win over DeSales University the night before, R-MC went 9-of-22 from downtown.
Junior forward Kevin Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y./Collegiate School) and sophomore guard Adam Desgain (Richmond, Va./J.R. Tucker) combined for 12 rebounds as each hauled in six boards to help R-MC dominate with a 35-22 advantage over the Diplomats.
The turning point of the game happened with 8:07 remaining in the first half as the Yellow Jackets forged a 13-2 run capped by junior guard Thomas Scheeler's (Mahanoy City, Pa./Mahanoy Area) trey at 4:45, giving Randolph-Macon a 24-18 bulge – its first lead of the game.
After a junior forward James McNally (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) jumper returned the lead to F&M at 2:51, Pugh and Closkey scored four straight points to boost R-MC, 28-25, at 1:39. Junior forward Mike Baker's (Maryland Heights, Mo./Whitfield School) jumper cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to one at halftime.
McNally paced the Diplomats (26-5) with 22 points after tallying a dozen in the second half. He also grabbed a team-best six caroms while sophomore guard Georgio Milligan (Spring Valley, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep) added 15 points, four assists and four steals. Baker finished in double figures as well with 14 and five rebounds.
Franklin & Marshall edged the Yellow Jackets with a 10-8 start in the first four minutes of the second half to briefly hold the lead. R-MC responded with four three-pointers by four different Yellow Jackets in a 22-11 run that gave them their biggest lead of the game – a 58-48 margin with 7:50 to play. The Diplomats were able to close the gap to 68-65 with 32 seconds left following three-point shot by junior guard Steve Tolliver (Wyncote, Pa./Cheltenham). The Yellow Jackets went on to close the game with a 5-of-6 effort to seal the deal.
Newspaper Box Score Randolph-Macon vs Frank. & Marsh. 03/13/10 7:00 pm at St. Mary's City, Md. - O'Brien ARC Arena At St. Mary's City, Md. - O'Brien ARC Arena RANDOLPH-MACON 73, FRANK. & MARSH. 65 RANDOLPH-MACON (26-6) PUGH, Eric 7-10 4-5 23; JONES, Danny 6-11 1-2 14; CROSKEY, Calvin 4-10 0-0 10; DESGAIN, Adam 1-6 4-4 7; BROWN, Jordan 2-3 1-2 6; BRAXTON, Brandon 2-8 2-2 6; SCHEELER, Thomas 2-4 1-2 6; VOELKEL, Kevin 0-1 1-2 1; CAMPION, Billy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 14-19 73. FRANK. & MARSH. (26-5) James McNally 9-15 4-6 22; Georgio Milligan 6-10 3-6 15; Mike Baker 6-8 2-3 14; Anthony Brooks 3-7 3-3 9; Steve Tolliver 1-4 0-2 3; Hayk Gyokchyan 1-1 0-0 2; Dontae Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Justin Driver 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Beckford 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 12-20 65. Randolph-Macon................ 28 45 - 73 Frank. & Marsh................ 27 38 - 65 3-point goals--Randolph-Macon 11-20 (PUGH, Eric 5-7; CROSKEY, Calvin 2-5; DESGAIN, Adam 1-4; BROWN, Jordan 1-1; JONES, Danny 1-1; SCHEELER, Thomas 1-2), Frank. & Marsh. 1-9 (Steve Tolliver 1-4; Georgio Milligan 0-1; Mike Baker 0-1; Brandon Beckford 0-3). Fouled out--Randolph-Macon-None, Frank. & Marsh.-Steve Tolliver. Rebounds--Randolph-Macon 35 (VOELKEL, Kevin 6; DESGAIN, Adam 6), Frank. & Marsh. 22 (James McNally 6). Assists--Randolph-Macon 14 (PUGH, Eric 6), Frank. & Marsh. 9 (Georgio Milligan 4). Total fouls--Randolph-Macon 19, Frank. & Marsh. 18. Technical fouls--Randolph-Macon-None, Frank. & Marsh.-None. A-398 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Sectional Final No. 16 Randolph-Macon advances to first-ever Final Four with tonight's win.