ASHLAND, Va. – Senior Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) nailed a three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining to erase a 66-65 deficit and lift the No. 11 Randolph-Macon men's basketball team to a 69-66 victory over sixth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan in ODAC action Wednesday evening at Crenshaw Gymnasium in front of a sellout crowd of 1,554 fans and in front of a regional television audience for its 11th straight win.
Badger finished with 14 points and dished out five assists. Senior Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) led the Yellow Jackets (14-2, 7-0) with 16 points. He was 6 for 10 from the floor and 4 for 5 on three-pointers.
Brandon Mitchell made a layup with 1:35 remaining to give the Marlins (13-3, 5-2 ODAC) a 66-65 lead. The first-place Yellow Jackets turned the ball over, but VWC missed a shot with 55 seconds left and senior Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River) grabbed the rebound. Following a timeout, Badger buried a trey from the left corner to give R-MC a 68-66 advantage. VWC missed a three-pointer with six seconds remaining. Senior Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws with two seconds remaining to make the final 69-66.
R-MC used a 7-2 spurt at the start of the second half to take a 44-29 lead with 17:30 remaining. The Marlins used a 19-4 run to knot the score at 48-48 with 11:52 left. The Yellow Jackets were able to push the lead back to five at 63-58 with 5:25 remaining before VWC scored six straight to take a 64-63 lead with 2:10 left.
VWC was hot at the start, taking an 18-10 lead with 13:25 remaining in the first period. R-MC used a 9-2 run to pull within one at 20-19 midway through the half. The Yellow Jackets closed the half on an 18-4 run over the final nine minutes to take a 37-27 lead at the break. Hamilton had nine points to pace R-MC.
Senior Akeem Holmes (King William, Va./King William) had 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. Hassell finished with 10 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. R-MC shot 50% from the floor (27-54), 57.1% on three-pointers (8-14) and 77.8% from the free throw line (7-9).
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24 for a home ODAC contest against Emory & Henry at 3:30 p.m.