ASHLAND, Va. – Junior Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) went 8 for 8 on three-pointers on his way to a career-high 27 points as No. 20 Randolph-Macon thumped Hampden-Sydney 90-67 in ODAC action Wednesday evening in front of a sellout crowd of 1,330 at Crenshaw Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Yellow Jackets (19-5, 13-2 ODAC) clinched the regular-season title in the ODAC and will be the No. 1 seed in next week's ODAC Tournament.
Hamilton, who missed the game against Emory & Henry this past Saturday after suffering a concussion at Eastern Mennonite, hit four treys in the first half and went 3 for 3 from the free throw line after being fouled on a three-point attempt to register 15 points. He was perfect on his four second-half attempts as well. Hamilton was three away from the school record, as Joe Goldin went 11 for 11 from behind the arc against Emory & Henry in 1997.
The Tigers (13-11, 7-8 ODAC) scored the first bucket of the game and that would be their only lead of the contest. A 16-5 run by the Yellow Jackets gave the home team a 16-7 advantage six minutes into the contest. H-SC narrowed the gap to five at 20-15 before an 18-7 spurt gave R-MC its largest lead of the half at 38-22 with 2:30 remaining. The Yellow Jackets would take a 44-30 lead at intermission. R-MC forced 11 turnovers and held a 14-0 advantage on points off turnovers. The Yellow Jackets had a 31-10 edge in bench points.
R-MC kept the pressure on in the second half. H-SC would get no closer than the 14-point halftime margin. Junior Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River) scored the first two baskets of the second half as the lead swelled to 18. The Yellow Jackets led by 19 at 58-39 with 15 minutes remaining before a 19-9 run gave R-MC its largest lead of the night at 82-53 with 6:25 remaining. The margin fell to 22 before the Yellow Jackets posted the 90-67 victory.
Junior Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) had nine points and four steals, while junior Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) added nine points and five assists for the Yellow Jackets.
Senior Andre Simon (Newport News, Va./Menchville) put up seven points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals in his final regular-season appearance at Crenshaw Gymnasium. Senior Jamie Robinson was a perfect 2 for 2 for four points.
Randolph-Macon will conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. ODAC contest at Washington & Lee on Saturday, Feb. 22.