LYNCHBURG, Va. – Senior Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as the eighth-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team edged Lynchburg 72-68 in ODAC action Saturday afternoon to extend its win streak to 14 games.
Badger hit five field goals and one three-pointer, while going 5 for 5 from the free throw line. He also had six assists and four steals in 29 minutes for the first-place Yellow Jackets (17-2, 10-0 ODAC).
R-MC bolted to a 7-0 lead in the first 4:30 of the contest. The lead grew to eight at 18-10 with 11:20 left in the period. The Hornets (11-8, 4-6 ODAC) used a 10-2 spurt to knot the score at 20-20. The lead for the Yellow Jackets climbed back to five at 29-24 before LC put together an 11-5 run to take its first lead at 35-34 with 1:45 to go. After a Hornet free throw made it 36-34 with 1:13 left, Badger had a dunk and senior Akeem Holmes (King William, Va./King William) sank a pair of free throws to give R-MC a 38-36 lead at intermission.
The teams stayed with three points of each other during the first nine minutes of the second half. The Hornets led 49-47 before R-MC scored eight straight to take a 55-49 advantage with 10:25 remaining. LC put together a 13-6 run to regain the lead at 62-61 with 6:30 to go. On R-MC's next possession, Badger nailed a three-pointer and R-MC would not trail again. He added a pair of free throws as the Yellow Jackets led 66-62 with five minutes remaining. The Hornets fought back and tied it at 68-68 with 42 seconds remaining. Senior Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) hit a jumper with 27 seconds left as R-MC took a 70-68 lead. Following a steal by senior Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River), junior Lamont Moore (Waverly, Va./Tidewater Academy) hit a pair of three throws with five seconds remaining to secure the 72-68 win.
Holmes finished with 12 points off the bench, while Hassell added 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Hamilton also tallied 11 for the victors.
Alex Graves paced the Hornets with 22 points and 11 boards.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 4 for a 7 p.m. home ODAC contest against Eastern Mennonite at Crenshaw Gymnasium.