ASHLAND, Va. - Junior Daniel Noe (Fairfax, Va./Bishop Ireton) buried a pair of three-pointers in the final 2:15 as part of his team-high 20 points as the Randolph-Macon men's basketball team rallied past Virginia Wesleyan 67-63 in ODAC action Wednesday evening in Crenshaw Gymnasium.
The Yellow Jackets (7-5, 3-0 ODAC) trailed 59-57 before a Noe trey from the top of the key put R-MC on top 60-59 with 2:15 remaining. After a jumper by the Marlins (8-4, 1-2 ODAC), sophomore Grayson Midulla scored in the lane to put the home team up 62-61 with 1:33 left. A layup gave VWC a 63-62 advantage before another Noe three-pointer with 26 seconds left gave the Yellow Jackets a 65-63 lead, the 16th lead change in the game. Junior Jermaine Johnson (Akron, Ohio/St. Christopher) hit a pair of free throws with 6.8 left to make the final 67-63.
Johnson finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Noe had six boards and four assists to go with his 20 points. Freshman Korey Turner (Midlothian, Va./Amelia Academy) paced the Yellow Jackets with five assists.
The teams stayed within four points for most of the first half. The Marlins built a 12-8 lead six minutes into the contest before a layup by Montese Adams (Richmond, Va./Fuqua) capped an 8-3 spurt as R-MC took a 6-15 lead with 10:30 left in the first period. The Yellow Jackets trailed 21-18 before a pair of free throws by Noe capped a 7-1 run as R-MC led 25-22 with 4:18 remaining. Following a VWC layup, senior Michael Taylor (Apex, N.C./Grace Christian) made a layup and Turner sank a pair of foul shots as the Yellow Jackets took a 29-24 lead at intermission. Noe had eight first-half points to lead all scorers.
A three-pointer by Taylor gave R-MC its biggest lead at 34-28 with 18:25 remaining. Khory Moore scored the first 14 points of the second half for the Marlins as VWC pulled within one at 40-39 with 14:50 left. A layup by Moore gave the Marlins their first second-half lead at 44-42 with just under 11 minutes remaining. A VWC three-pointer gave the visitors their biggest lead at 53-48 with 7:22 left. A three-point play by Johnson pulled R-MC with two at 53-51 with just under seven minutes remaining. Noe hit two free throws with 2:50 left for the game's seventh and final tie at 57-57.
R-MC held VWC to 38% shooting from the floor (21-55). Moore finished with 27 points for the Marlins.
Randolph-Macon hit the road for a 4:30 p.m. ODAC contest at Bridgewater on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m.