ASHLAND, Va. - Senior Daniel Noe (Fairfax, Va./Bishop Ireton) scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Randolph-Macon men's basketball team over Lynchburg 88-72 Saturday afternoon in ODAC action in Crenshaw Gym.
The Yellow Jackets (5-1, 2-0 ODAC) have won five straight. The Hornets (3-4, 0-2 ODAC) have lost four in a row.
R-MC would not trail in the contest. Junior Montese Adams (Richmond, Va./Fuqua) hit a jumper to start the scoring and snapped a 2-2 tie with a layup. Noe had a layup and a three-pointer as the Yellow Jackets built a 9-2 advantage four minutes into the contest. LC cut it to two at 12-10 before a 25-9 run gave R-MC an 18-point lead at 37-19 with 5:30 left in the first half. The Hornets narrowed the gap to nine at 39-30 before R-MC took a 42-32 lead at intermission. Noe hit five field goals and two treys for 12 points. Freshman David Funderburg (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) went 3 for 3 for six points and grabbed three rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. R-MC had a 20-12 advantage on the boards, with 10 of its rebounds on the offensive end. Sophomore Korey Turner (Midlothian, Va./Amelia Academy) had five of R-MC's nine first-half assists. The Yellow Jackets had just four turnovers, compared to 10 by LC.
A three-pointer by junior Luke Neeley (Orange, Va./Woodberry Forest) nailed a trey to cap a 12-2 spurt at the start of the second half as the lead ballooned back to 18 at 54-36 with 16:20 remaining. The Hornets lowered the margin to seven at 58-51 with just under 11 minutes remaining before seven straight points by the Yellow Jackets made it 65-51 with 8:20 left. LC trailed 65-56 with 7:45 left before a layup by Noe gave R-MC a double-figure lead and the Yellow Jackets would not lead by less than 10 the rest of the way. A three-point play by freshman Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) capped a 20-9 spurt as the home team took its largest lead at 85-65 with just under a minute remaining. R-MC would hold on for an 88-72 victory.
Noe hit eight field goals and three treys for his 19 points. Junior Grayson Midulla (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) put up 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Adams finished with 10 points and six boards. Neeley went 3 for 3 behind the arc for a career-best nine points, while Funderburg was 4 for 4 from the floor for a career-high eight points. Turner had nine assists and Anthony dished out four assists.
Randolph-Macon hits the road to play in Juniata's tournament next weekend. In the first round, the Yellow Jackets face Misericordia on Friday, Dec. 8 at 5 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be on Saturday, Dec. 9.