LEXINGTON, Va. – Senior Andre Simon (Newport News, Va./Menchville) registered 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds as No. 20 Randolph-Macon erased a nine-point deficit with 8:15 remaining in winning at Washington & Lee 68-62 Saturday evening in the ODAC regular-season finale.
The Yellow Jackets raised their overall record to 20-5, their seventh consecutive 20-win campaign and the fifth under fifth-year head coach Nathan Davis. R-MC improved to 14-2 in the ODAC and will be the top seed in next week's ODAC Tournament in Salem, Va.
The Generals (6-19, 3-13) sprinted to a 16-5 lead with 13:20 left in the first period. R-MC used a 9-2 run to cut the margin to four at 18-13 with 9:30 remaining in the half. W&L scored six straight to push the lead back to 10 with just under eight minutes left. The Generals were up 29-20 with just under three minutes remaining before four points by junior Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) and a layup by Simon cut the deficit to three at 29-26 at intermission.
Junior Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) had a layup to start the second half, extending the run to 8-0 and making it a one-point game. A three-point play by Badger gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the contest at 35-34 with 17 minutes left. W&L had an 18-8 spurt to reclaim a nine-point advantage at 52-43 with 8:15 to go. R-MC trailed 56-48 with 6:45 left before a 16-3 run gave the Yellow Jackets a 64-59 lead with 1:08 remaining. During the run, a layup by junior Akeem Holmes (King William, Va./King William) tied the game at 59-59 with 3:44 on the clock and a jumper by junior Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River) gave R-MC the lead for good at 61-59 with 2:50 remaining. The Yellow Jackets were 7 for 10 from the free throw line over the final 1:30 to secure the win.
Sullivan finished with 13 points, going 7 for 8 from the charity stripe. Badger total 10 points.
Top-seeded Randolph-Macon will play its quarterfinal match in the ODAC Tournament on Friday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. against the winner of No. 8 Hampden-Sydney vs. No. 9 Roanoke, a game to be played on Tuesday, Feb. 25.