VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Junior Corey Bays (Bel Air, Md./CM Wright) scored 23 points, one away from his career high, and broke a 67-67 tie with a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining, and senior Grayson Midulla (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) had seven points in the Yellow Jackets' game-ending 10-0 run, as the 15th-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team rallied to defeat Virginia Wesleyan 72-67 in ODAC action Thursday evening.

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 72, Virginia Wesleyan 67

Location/Venue: Virginia Beach, Va./Batten Student Center

Records: R-MC 13-1, 5-0 ODAC; VWU 5-8, 3-1 ODAC

How It Happened

• Bays hit a three-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 lead three minutes into the contest. The Marlins used a 21-7 run to take a 25-12 advantage midway through the first period. A follow by senior Luke Neeley (Orange, Va./Woodberry Forest) capped a 20-11 spurt as R-MC narrowed the gap to four at 36-32 with 30 seconds remaining in the first half. VWU hit a late trey and took a 39-32 lead at the break. Bays led the Yellow Jackets with 11 first-half points, while Neeley added eight. Sophomore Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) had six assists in the first 20 minutes for R-MC.
• Midulla buried a three-pointer on the Yellow Jackets' first possession of the second half as the deficit dropped to four at 39-35. A layup by Neeley made it a two-point game at 46-44 with 15:15 remaining. A trey by Bays allowed R-MC to reclaim the lead at 49-48 with 13:55 left. Following a long ball by VWU, consecutive three-pointers by Anthony and Neeley gave the visitors a 55-51 edge with 12:30 remaining. The Marlins used a 16-7 spurt to go up 67-62 with 3:45 left, but VWU would not score again. Midulla had a layup and a three-pointer to level the score at 67-67 with 1:25 remaining. Following a steal by Midulla, Bays knocked down a trey with 56 seconds left to put R-MC ahead for good at 70-67. After a missed shot by VWU, Midulla grabbed the rebound and scored in the paint with 10 seconds left to seal the 72-67 victory.

By The Numbers

• R-MC had four players score in double figures. Along with the 23 by Bays, Neeley put up 13, Midulla scored 12 and Anthony added 10.
• Anthony led the Yellow Jackets with 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.
• The Yellow Jackets committed a season-low 4 turnovers, just 2 in each half. The R-MC defense forced VWU into 14 miscues. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Marlins 21-0  in points off turnovers.
• R-MC made 11 of 15 free throws (73.3%), while VWU made just 1 of 3 from the foul line (33.3%). 

Notes

• R-MC has won 12 straight times in its first game of a new year, dating back to 2008.

Up Next

• Randolph-Macon stays on the road for an ODAC contest at Guilford on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.