GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sophomore Matt McCarthy scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half of Guilford College's 69-65 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's basketball win over visiting Randolph College Wednesday.
The Quakers (14-2, 6-1 ODAC), ranked 22nd in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, overcame an early 12-point deficit to secure their ninth straight win. Randolph (13-2, 5-2 ODAC) led by as many as six points in the second half before suffering their second straight loss after winning their first 13 games.
McCarthy's layup with 11:01 left in regulation capped a 13-2 Guilford run over seven minutes of the second half. Teammate Zeb Richardson netted five of his 11 points during the spurt, which turned a six-point deficit into a 48-43 Guilford lead.
Randolph answered with a 9-4 run and tied the game at 52 on Mike Ehilegbu's three-pointer with 7:42 left. McCarthy scored on the Quakers' next possession, which set off a decisive 13-3 outburst that effectively put the game out of reach. The sophomore guard had seven points and classmate Will Freeman added four during the run that gave Guilford a 65-55 edge with just over three minutes remaining.
Colton Hunt and Corey Brown canned threes as Randolph reeled off eight straight points to make it a 65-63 game with 63 seconds remaining. Guilford made two-of-four free throws on a possession extended by the Quakers' ninth offensive rebound of the game. Randolph's Hunt scored a layup with three seconds left, but missed a free throw, which Guilford's Jake Hopkins collected. Hopkins was fouled and made two free throws, which sealed the win.
Guilford's inside tandem of Richardson, Hopkins and Freeman proved too much for Randolph. Freeman made six-of-nine shots from the floor on the way to a season-high 15 points and five boards off the bench. Richardson connected on five-of-eight field goals, collected two rebounds and blocked two shots. Hopkins finished with eight points and a game-high 10 boards. The Quakers held a 36-25 rebounding edge and shot 51 percent from the floor. Quakers' scoring leader Josh Pittman was held to five points, but contributed six rebounds and four assists while committing just one turnover in 35 minutes.
Hunt, who entered the game ranked fifth among NCAA Division III scoring leaders, led all scorers with 24 points. He also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ehilegbu and Jason Eddie both finished with nine points. Chris Battaglia had seven points and nine rebounds before fouling out.
Guilford heads to league-rival Washington and Lee University Saturday (1/19) for a 2:00 p.m. contest.