Hassell's Double-Double Leads R-MC past Randolph for 18th Straight Win

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LYNCHBURG, Va. – Senior Joe Hassell (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River) recorded his third straight double-double and sixth of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds as the fourth-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team held off Randolph 74-66 Saturday afternoon in ODAC play for its program-record 18th consecutive victory.

Hassell hit seven field goals and five free throws for the first-place Yellow Jackets (21-1, 14-0 ODAC).

R-MC scored the first five points of the game and would never trail. The Yellow Jackets held a 13-11 advantage before scoring 13 straight to take a 26-11 lead with 10:30 to go in the first half. The lead would be as large as 16 (29-13) before R-MC took a 40-31 edge at intermission. Senior Chris Hamilton (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) hit three treys and tallied 12 points in the first half for R-MC.

The Yellow Jackets used a 16-4 spurt at the start of the second half to push the lead to 21 at 56-35 with 15 minutes remaining. The advantage was still 21 at 65-44 with 12:15 left before the Wildcats (11-12, 5-9 ODAC) scored 18 straight over the next 8:30 to make it 65-62 with 3:45 to go. Hassell had a tip-in one minute later and junior Lamont Moore (Waverly, Va./Tidewater Academy) converted a three-point play to make it 70-62 with 1:20 remaining. R-MC hit four free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

Hamilton finished with 12 points, while senior Marcus Badger (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) added 11 points and six assists. Senior Akeem Holmes (King William, Va./King William) had 11 points off the bench and blocked four shots.

Zach Desgain led Randolph with 19 points.

Randolph-Macon returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 for a 7 p.m. home contest against Shenandoah.