ASHLAND, Va. --- Junior Buzz Anthony (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) put up 21 points, while freshman Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds, as the No. 3 Randolph-Macon men's basketball team downed Wesley 81-69 in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship on Friday evening.

THE BASICS

• Score: Randolph-Macon 81, Wesley 69
• Location/Venue: Ashland, Va./Crenshaw Gym
• Records: R-MC 27-2, WC 18-10

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Wolverines scored the first bucket, Mallory had two field goals to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-2 edge. WC pulled within one at 9-8 before a three-pointer by Anthony made it 12-8 with 15:25 remaining in the first half. Following a basket by the Wolverines, Anthony and junior David Funderburg (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) had layups and Anthony hit a trey to put R-MC on top 19-10 with 11 minutes left. The Wolverines cut the deficit to five before a layup by Funderburg made it 25-18 with 6:40 remaining. The Yellow Jackets led 29-24 before closing the half on an 8-3 run, capped by a layup by Mallory, as R-MC took a 37-27 lead at the break. Anthony and Mallory both had 10 points for the Yellow Jackets.
• R-MC started the second half with a three-pointer by senior Corey Bays (Bel Air, Md./CM Wright) and a layup by junior Terry Woods (Burlington, N.C./Burlington School) to extend the lead to 15 at 42-27 with 18:40 remaining. WC had five straight points before Mallory had a layup and a three-point play followed by a pair of free throws by Anthony as the Yellow Jackets took a 51-32 lead with just under 16 minutes left. The Wolverines scored eight straight points before a driving layup by Anthony gave R-MC a 53-40 advantage with 10:20 remaining. WC closed with nine before a three-point play by Talbert made it 64-52 with 7:04 left. Anthony nailed a trey and Mallory hit two free throws to make it an 8-0 run as the Yellow Jackets took a 69-52 lead with just under five minutes remaining. R-MC would score eight of its final 11 points from the foul line as the Yellow Jackets posted an 81-69 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• R-MC had three score in double figures. Along with 21 by Anthony and 18 by Mallory, freshman Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) tallied 13.
• The Yellow Jackets shot 53% from the floor, hitting 28 of 53. Anthony hit 7 of 8 field goals, while Mallory went 6 for 9.
• R-MC committed just eight turnovers and forced 13. The Yellow Jackets had 11 steals. Mallory paced the victors with four, while senior Korey Turner (Midlothian, Va./Amelia Academy) snagged three.
• The Yellow Jackets had a 24-1 advantage in bench points.

FOR THE RECORD

• The Yellow Jackets have won 15 of their past 16 games.
• R-MC is 3-0 all-time against Wesley.
• The Yellow Jackets have a 26-game winning streak, the longest current streak in Division III.
• This year's team is the fifth in program history to win 27 games. The teams in 2002-03 and 2014-15 both won 28 games, while the 1974-75 and 2018-19 squads won 27.
• Anthony has 1,192 career points and is in 31st place in program history.
• Anthony has 474 career assists, sitting in third place in program history. Rod Wood had 621 from 1981-85 and Paul Jez had 747 from 1971-75.

UP NEXT

Randolph-Macon will face TCNJ in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. The Lions recorded an 89-73 win over Marietta in the first game of the day in Crenshaw Gym. Students can pick up tickets beginning at 2 p.m. in the lobby of Crenshaw Gym. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with tickets available to the public. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students, youth and senior citizens.