LEXINGTON, Va.- The Randolph men's basketball team traveled up to Lexington to take on Washington and Lee on Thursday night. In a game that featured 11 ties, 10 lead changes, and a difference at one time of no more than eight points, it was a tight contest throughout that saw the Generals hold off the WildCats in the end, 76-73.
The Generals had a lead of five points on four occasions during the first half with the last time coming at 10:56, 20-15. Randolph came back to tie it at 22-all following a three pointer from Chase Van Horn (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) at 8:38. After W&L went ahead on a Mark Croughan layup, Colton Lee (Raleigh, N.C./North Raleigh Christian Academy) put the 'Cats ahead for the first time with a three of his own with just under eight minutes remaining in the half.
The two teams were back and forth with lead changes and ties ensuing. With 4:57 to go in the frame, Elijah Ford (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly) converted his layup and was fouled. His free throw gave the WildCats a 30-29 lead. The Generals snatched the lead back but a Brian Smith (Dumfries, Va./C.D. Hylton) basket and free throw once again restored a one-point advantage to Randolph. The lead exchanged hands and a Clayton Murtha layup with 22 seconds on the game clock put the home team up 40-39 at the break.
In the second half, Reid Jacoby (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) caught fire as he scored six straight points to give Randolph a 45-40 lead. The Generals had an answer with a 9-0 run to wrestle the lead back and go ahead 49-45 at the 15:12 mark. Jacoby ended the W&L scoring streak with another layup and cut the lead to two points.
Washington and Lee was able to expand its advantage to seven points, 56-49, with 12:26 remaining. The WildCats battled back to eventually whittle its deficit to two points, 58-56, with 7:57 remaining. The Generals used an 8-2 run to build its biggest lead of the game, 66-58, with 6:22 left. Not wanting the game to get away from them, the 'Cats clawed their way back in as Ford made a traditional three-point play to slice the deficit to five points. Those points were part of an 8-0 WildCat run to knot the game at 66-all with 4:18 to go.
A pair of free throws and a layup brought the score to 70-66 W&L. The General lead grew to 74-68 but Randolph rallied as Sammy Hooper (Richmond, Va./Midlothian) drained a trey with 1:31 to play then stole the ball and put in a layup with 14 seconds left to get the WildCats to 74-73. W&L converted two free throws with six ticks to go but Randolph still had life. The Generals fouled twice to take precious time off the clock. After the second foul, Smith launched a three-point shot as time expired but it glanced off the back iron and the game was over.
All five starters reached double figures for the WildCats led by Ford and Ryan Fields' (Edgewood, Md./Loyola Blakefield) 14 points. It was career-high for Ford and his first double-digit performance. He also picked up seven rebounds. Fields tacked on five rebounds and four steals. Hooper added 12 points and six rebounds. Jacoby chipped in 11 points and four assists. Smith had 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.
From the floor, Randolph was 27-of-70 (38.6%) while W&L was 31-of-72 (43.1%). The WildCats performed well at the charity stripe as they made 14-of-16 attempts (87.5%). Both teams committed 14 turnovers but the Generals had a 15-7 advantage off of Randolph's. Rebounding favored Washington and Lee 46-41.
The WildCats next travel to Eastern Mennonite on Saturday. Game time will be at 2:00 p.m.