Marlins Fall 67-63 in Tight Road Battle with R-MC

ASHLAND, Va. – Daniel Noe connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key with 26 seconds left to lift the Randolph-Macon College men's basketball team to a 67-63 victory over Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday night.

The two squads battled to a tight first half before the Yellow Jackets scored the final four points of the half to take a 29-24 lead into intermission.

The Marlins battled back over the first three minutes of the second half, going on a 10-7 run to cut the deficit to just three points, 36-34, as senior Khory Moore was responsible for all of the Marlin points in the spurt.

The Yellow Jackets held onto the narrow margin over the next few minutes, leading 42-39 on a Montese Adams layup at the 14:32 mark. The Virginia Wesleyan defense held R-MC without a basket over the next four minutes to go up 44-42 behind a pair of points each from Moore and Josh Williams and a Kaelin Poe free throw.

The Marlins took their largest lead of the second half as Tim Jones and Andre Banks connected for back-to-back threes to put the visitors up 53-48 with 7:26 to play in the game.

The remainder of the contest was spent within a single possession as both teams looked to capitalize late.

Trailing by a point, 60-59 with 2:12 to go, Keijon Honore knocked down a jumper for the lead. Grayson Midulla capitalized on the other end of the floor, garnering the lead back to R-MC but Honore answered the call once more with a lead-changing layup.

That 63-62 lead lasted until 26 seconds remained when Randolph-Macon called a timeout to set up the play for Noe. The Yellow Jackets inbounded the ball to Jermaine Johnson who drove down the lane, kicking it back out to the top of the key where Noe connected for the game-winner.

The Marlins had a chance at the other end, but the Randolph-Macon defense double-teamed Moore, forcing him to pass it off. Virginia Wesleyan found an open look at the top of the circle, but the shot fell off the front of the rim where Johnson grabbed the rebound. He was fouled immediately and converted a pair of free throws to ice the game.

Moore led the Marlins with 27 points and five rebounds. Jones contributed 14 points, combining with Moore for 41 of Virginia Wesleyan's 63 points as a team.

Noe finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists for Randolph-Macon (7-5/3-0).

The Yellow Jackets posted an 82.4% (14-17) mark at the free throw line while Virginia Wesleyan went 55% (11-20) at the charity stripe. Randolph-Macon also held advantages in bench points 31-11 and points in the paint 34-14 Wednesday evening.

Virginia Wesleyan (8-4/1-2) hosts Washington and Lee University (5-7/1-2) for an ODAC contest Saturday at 4:30 p.m.