ASHLAND, Va. -- Randolph-Macon College basketball fans exhaled in unison Wednesday when a three-point by Virginia Wesleyan College's Khory Moore with only six seconds remaining bounced off the front of the rim at Crenshaw Gymnasium.

Moore (Arlington/Wakefield School) attempted to give the No. 6 ranked Marlins the lead, but the missed resulted in a rebound by Connor Sullivan, who also drew a foul.  He hit one of two free throws with two seconds on the clock to help the No. 11 Yellow Jackets secure a thrilling 69-66 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory before a crowd of 1,554 and a regional television audience.

Virginia Wesleyan (13-3, 5-2) put itself in position for the victory by igniting an impressive comeback from a 15-point deficit in the second half. The Marlins trailed 44-29 after Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) hit one of his four triples in the game, but the Jackets (14-2, 7-0) could not extend the spread.

In a span of six minutes, the Marlins turned the tide, hitting 4-of-6 shots en route to outscoring Randolph-Macon 19-4 to create a 48-48 tie after Moore was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit three straight free throws with 11:52 still remaining to be played. Senior Greg Montgomery (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) scored eight points in the VWC rally, while R-MC hit only 2-of-6 shots and turned the ball over five times.

Scoring by Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) and Akeem Holmes (King William, Va./King William) helped R-MC to rebuild a five point edge (58-53) with 7:11 on the clock, but VWC answered. Cameron Owens (Centreville/Centreville) hit a triple to spark an 11-5 scoring surge for the Marlins, who moved in front 64-63 on a Montgomery layup with 2:10 remaining.

Two free throws by Joe Hassell gave R-MC a 65-64 lead seconds later, before senior Brandon Mitchell (Albany, Ga./Westover) scored on a layup to return the lead to VWC, 66-65, with 1:35 showing. A steal by VWC put the Marlins in position to add to the lead, but a layup attempt did not fall through, Hassell rebounded the ball, and the Jackets called timeout with 46 seconds remaining. 

Badger came through with the eventual game-winner when he hit a three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining, giving the Jackets a 68-66 lead.  VWC took a timeout to set up its ensuing play, but the shot to take the win did not produce points.

Moore led all scoring in the game with 19 points. Montgomery finished with 16 points and sophomore Tim Jones (Richmond/Henrico) tallied 11.  The Marlins connected on six triples, led by Moore and Jones with two each.

Hamilton topped R-MC scoring with 16 points, hitting 4-of-5 triples. Badger came through for 14 points, Holmes finished with 11, and Hassell tallied 10.  R-MC hit 8-of-14 triples overall, with five players hitting at least one each.

VWC returns to competition on Saturday, Jan. 24, hosting the Hornets of Lynchburg College at 2 p.m. in the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

--AMDG--