SALEM, Va. – Caleb Pearson made six of Randolph College's school-record 15 three-pointers and scored 21 points in the Wildcats' 75-72 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament quarterfinal win over Guilford College Friday.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (17-9), in their first ODAC Men's Basketball Tournament, advance to a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College. The Marlins downed #9 Washington and Lee University, 98-78, in an earlier quarterfinal Friday.
Guilford, seeded fourth in the tournament, concludes its fifth straight winning season with a 16-10 record.
The hot-shooting Wildcats stroked nine three-pointers in the first half alone, nearly twice their per-game average for the season. Leading 40-24 at the break, Randolph kept knocking down threes and led, 61-44, after Colton Hunt's trifecta with 8:20 left in the game.
The Quakers, who trailed by 19 early in the second half, maintained their composure and staged a furious rally. After two Hunt free throws gave Randolph a 71-59 edge, Guilford reeled off 13 of the game's next 15 points. Two Tobi Akinsola free throws pulled the Quakers to within 73-72 with 41 seconds left.
Two Randolph timeouts later, Pearson drew a foul and sank two free throws with 16 seconds remaining that opened a 75-72 Wildcats' lead. Guilford had no time outs remaining, but Josh Pittman still had a good look at a potentially game-tying three that glanced off the rim as time expired.
Randolph's Hunt scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and added six boards and two assists. Reserve teammate Timmy Clarke tallied all 11 of his points in the first half thanks to three three-pointers. Randolph shot an impressive 52.3 percent from the field in their ODAC Tournament debut, including 15-of-27 (55.6%) from three-point land.
Guilford's Pittman led all scorers with 24 points, 15 in the second half. Akinsola finished with 15 points and contributed to Guilford's 42-10 edge in interior scoring. Brad Monroe chipped in eight points and had a game-high eight rebounds. Guilford recovered from 28.6 percent first-half shooting and shot 52.9 percent in the second half and 41.9 percent for the game.
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