ASHLAND, Va. – Senior Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) made a driving layup with 0.9 seconds left as the second-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team edged Averett 53-51 to extend its win streak to 20 games and extend its home win streak to 61 games, one away from the NCAA Division III record.

The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 53, Averett 51

Venue: Crenshaw Gym

Records: R-MC 22-1, 14-0 ODAC; AU 9-14, 5-9 ODAC

How it Happened:

• The Cougars had the first bucket of the game before senior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) had two layups followed by layups from Mbangue and senior Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) as the Yellow Jackets took an 8-2 lead with 16:45 left in the first period. AU eventually tied the game at 12-12 midway through the half before Talbert hit a jumper one minute later to make it 14-12. The Cougars took their first lead at 16-15 with seven minutes remaining. AU went up 18-15 before baskets in the paint by Mallory and freshman Liam Joyce (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) gave R-MC a 19-18 edge with 4:40 left. A jumper by Mallory with 1:45 remaining put the Yellow Jackets up 23-22 before AU had the final bucket to take a 24-23 lead at the break. Mallory had nine points and Talbert added eight for R-MC.
• Mbangue sank a pair of free throws three minutes into the second half to give the Yellow Jackets a 30-28 edge. The Cougars scored seven straight points to go up five before a steal and layup by Talbert capped a 7-2 spurt as R-MC leveled the score at 37-37. AU scored nine straight points to lead 46-37 with 11:27 remaining but would only score five points the rest of the way. Talbert and freshman Keishawn Pulley, Jr. (Louisa, Va./St. Christopher's) scored in the paint, Mallory made two free throws and Pulley scored on a follow as the home team pulled within one at 46-45 with 6:50 left. The Cougars hit a free throw, Mallory made a foul shot and AU hit a jumper to lead 49-46 with five minutes remaining. Mallory had a jumper and completed a three-point play to give the Yellow Jackets a 51-49 edge with 2:49 left. A jumper by AU 20 seconds later tied it at 51-51. R-MC had the ball with less than a minute remaining, but a turnover gave the ball to AU. The Cougars missed a layup with less than 10 seconds left and Mallory grabbed the rebound. He passed to Mbangue, who drove and scored with 0.9 seconds left to give the Yellow Jackets a 53-51 edge. AU missed a long shot at the buzzer to end the contest.

By The Numbers:

• Mallory had three blocked shots to give him 256 for his career, a program and ODAC record.
• R-MC had two players score in double figures. Talbert had 19 and Mallory added 17.
• Mallory has 1,373 career points, moving him past Paul Gartlan (1977-81) into 16th place on R-MC's career scoring list.
• Talbert has 1,183 career points. He sits 33rd on R-MC's career scoring list.
• Talbert led the Yellow Jackets with four assists.
• Talbert has 333 career assists, one away from cracking the Top 10 in program history.
• R-MC was outrebounded for just the fifth time this season. AU had a 39-30 edge on the glass. Mallory paced the Yellow Jackets with seven caroms.
• Mallory has 784 career rebounds, the seventh-highest total in program history.
• Talbert and Pulley both had two steals.
• Talbert has 177 career steals, tied with Ryan Stein (2000-04) for the fifth-highest total in program history.
• R-MC trailed at the half for the sixth time this season.

For the Record:

• R-MC extended its home win streak to 61 games, a program record and the longest current streak in all NCAA divisions. The Division III record is 62, set by North Park from 1984-1988.
• The Yellow Jackets extended their win streak to 20 games. R-MC has won 33 straight ODAC contests over the past three seasons and is 63-2 in conference contests over the past five seasons.

Next Up:

R-MC will host Roanoke on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. in ODAC action. It is Senior Day, with Noah Lindsay, Miles Mallory and Josh Talbert being recognized prior to the game. It is also Alumni Day, with the annual Alumni Game at 11 a.m. All alums will be invited to the floor at halftime of the game vs. Roanoke for a group picture.