GREENSBORO, N.C. – Dominique Henderson scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half of Guilford College's 69-61 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's basketball victory over visiting Randolph College Wednesday night.
The Quakers (17-3, 10-1 ODAC) moved into a share of first place in the ODAC standings as Randolph-Macon College slipped to 10-1 in league play with Wednesday's loss at Hampden-Sydney College. Guilford hosts Randolph-Macon February 11 in the teams' lone meeting of the season.
Guilford blocked 10 shots in their 12th win in 13 games. The 10 rejections are one shy of the 2006 school standard and its most since a 2008 game at Emory University. Quakers' sophomore Alston Thompson (9 pts., 7 reb.) made a career- and game-best five blocks, the most by a Quaker since 2015.
The visiting Wildcats (7-13, 4-7 ODAC) rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and grabbed a 44-41 lead on Reid Jacoby's layup with 14:14 left in regulation. The basket capped a 26-12 flurry that started 3:40 before halftime after Guilford opened its largest lead, 31-20. It also marked Jacoby's final points of the night as the junior point guard checked out soon thereafter with an ankle injury. He later returned, but did not score in the final 14 minutes and missed his last five shots. Jacoby, the ODAC assists leader, finished with 19 points on eight-of-16 shooting, plus four rebounds and six helpers.
Ryan Fields (20 points, 10 rebounds) and a Chase VanHorn three-pointer helped Randolph stick around with Jacoby on the sidelines, but Henderson and the Quakers proved too strong down the stretch. A Henderson three put Guilford back in front, 57-55, with 6:49 left in regulation. Randolph tied the game twice in the remaining time, but Guilford outscored the Wildcats, 10-2 in the last three minutes. Randolph missed six-of-seven shots and committed three turnovers in the final three minutes while Guilford made eight-of-13 free throws in the same time.
Carson Long overcame a subpar shooting night (4-15) by delivering his first double-double (12 points, career-high 12 rebounds) of the season, plus three blocks and two steals. Long had seven of Guilford's 21 offensive boards, which led to 22 second-chance points, compared to just two for Randolph. Kyler Gregory chipped in 12 points and four rebounds off the bench. Zachary Houston did not score, but had nine rebounds and six assists.
Coach Tom Palombo's Quakers visit league-foe Washington and Lee University Saturday (2/4) at 2:00 p.m.