Worcester, MA --- Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, VA) netted a squad-best 18 points with six rebounds to help propel Randolph-Macon to a 79-68 triumph over fourth-ranked WPI in the second-round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament this evening at Assumption's Laska Gymnasium.
The Yellow Jackets (21-9) advance to their first sectional Semifinal since 2010. They will play Amherst next Saturday at a site to be announced tomorrow. The Engineers, who are making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years, ends their record-setting campaign at 26-3 overall.
Randolph-Macon's Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, PA) finished with a solid all-around numbers with 11 points, seven boards and a game-best seven helpers. Hassell made seven of his eight bids from the field. Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, NC) and Lamar Giggetts(Fredericksburg, VA) ended with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Andre Simon (Newport News, VA) corralled a match-high 11 caroms for the visitors.
Ryan Kolb (Southington, CT) paced WPI's offensive attack with game-highs 25 points and five swipes. Marco Coppola (Watertown, MA) also added 17 points on a 7-for-15 shooting effort and Zach Karalis (North Andover, MA) chipped in with 13 for the Boynton Hillers.
Randolph Macon drained nine of thier first 12 shots from the field en-route to a 21-14 advantage with 10:44 remaining in the opening half, which was capped off by a Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, OH) trey. As the Yellow Jackets led 28-17 two minutes later, WPI got back into it when Domenick Mastascusa (North Reading, MA) netted three straight buckets to help the hosts trail by seven with 5:44 (30-23). But the visitors maintained their distance and led by as much as 10 points on three separate occasions before intermission to settle for the 39-30 edge at the half.
After the break, the Yellow Jackets advantage peaked at 44-30 early on before the Boynton Hillers rallied and made it a six-point twice with 16:16 on the clock (44-38) and again with 12:13 mark (51-45). Following a three-pointer by Coppola to make it a five-point game 2½ minutes later, Badger and Hassell rattled off consecutive field goals for the 59-50 edge with 7:32 remaining.
One minute later, Kolb hit a three at the top of the arc to help the Engineers trail by six, but the Yellow Jackets responded with a 10-3 run to open up a 69-56 score with 2:37 left in the game.
WPI used a mini 5-0 spurt for one final push which was finished off by a Karalis trifecta to make it a seven point contest (71-64).
Randolph-Macon sank eight of their last 10 tries from the charity stripe to end the contest and seal up their second trip to the sectionals in the last four years.
The Yellow Jackets were on fire from the field for the game as they connected for a season-best 59 percent from the field (29-for-49) – including a blistering 65 percent effort in the second stanza alone (13-for-20).
Randolph-Macon also dominated the glass (42-23) and led in second chance points (11-6). The visitors ended the contest canning 74 percent of their attempts from the free throw line (17-for-23).
WPI posted a modest 40 percent shooting percentage from the field (26-for-66), but only sank 10 of their 31 attempts from downtown (32 percent) and six of their 13 tries from the charity stripe.
The Engineers also used nine swipes to force 18 miscues into a 24-11 edge in points off turnovers.