BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Junior Luke Neeley (Orange, Va./Woodberry Forest) scored a career-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half, and freshman Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) matched his career best with 20 points as the Randolph-Macon men's basketball team outscored Bridgewater 82-73 in ODAC action Wednesday evening.
The Yellow Jackets (11-3, 5-0 ODAC) extended their win streak to five games. The Eagles fell to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Neeley more than doubled his previous high of nine points. He went 7 for 8 from the floor, hit both his three-point attempts, and hit three of four free throws. Anthony hit eight field goals, including a pair of treys. Junior Darryl Williams (Columbia, Md./Glenelg Country) tallied a season-high 13 points, while junior Montese Adams (Richmond, Va./Fuqua) added a dozen points. R-MC had four score in double figures for the fourth time this season, all victories for the Yellow Jackets.
Williams and Anthony had layups in the first minute as R-MC took an early 4-0 lead. A bucket by Adams put the Yellow Jackets up 11-3 left than four minutes into the contest. After BC cut the deficit to three at 13-10, Neeley and Adams both had five points in a 10-2 run as R-MC went up 23-12 midway through the first period. The Eagles put together an 18-3 spurt to go ahead 30-26 with 5:25 left. The Yellow Jackets trailed 33-30 with four minutes remaining before Anthony scored nine points in a 13-2 run as R-MC assumed a 43-35 lead at intermission. Anthony had 14 points, three assists and three steals, while Adams added nine first-half points.
BC had a 12-7 edge to start the second half, closing to within three at 50-47 four minutes into the second stanza. Neeley and Adams both had three-pointers in an 11-2 spurt as the Yellow Jackets took a 61-49 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining. The Eagles scored seven straight to trail by five at 61-56 with 8:40 left. A layup by Neeley capped a 13-8 spurt as the lead grew back to 10 at 74-64 with 4:40 remaining. R-MC held on for an 82-73 victory.
Junior Grayson Midulla (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) led the victors with seven rebounds. The R-MC defense forced 17 turnovers, while the Yellow Jackets committed just eight.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 13 with a 2 p.m. home ODAC contest against Washington and Lee in Crenshaw Gym.