ASHLAND, Va. --- Senior Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) led all scorers with 15 points, as the top-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team opened defense of its national championship with a 73-36 victory over Wilson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to extend its win streak to 26 games and break the NCAA Division III record for consecutive home victories with 63.

THE BASICS

• Score: Randolph-Macon 73, Wilson 36
• Venue: Crenshaw Gym
• Records: R-MC 28-1, WC 19-9

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Junior Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had seven points and Talbert added six as the Yellow Jackets sprinted out to a 22-0 lead with 9:25 left in the first half. The Phoenix did not score until 8:40 remained in the first period. A Talbert layup pushed the lead to 27 at 31-4 with six minutes left. A three-pointer by junior Will Coble (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day) and a layup by freshman Jabril Robinson (Derwood, Md./South Kent Prep) gave RMC a 40-6 lead with 2:10 remaining. had a pair of bank shots to close out the half, one at the buzzer, as the home team led 44-8 at the break. Eight different Yellow Jackets scored in the first half, led by Talbert with a dozen. RMC held Wilson to 17% shooting from the floor (4 for 23). The Phoenix were 0-8 from beyond the arc and committed 13 turnovers.
• A layup by Talbert pushed the advantage to 39 at 49-10 with 15:40 remaining. A fast break layup by freshman Bryce Scott (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) on a pass from Talbert extended the lead to 41 at 58-17 with 9:45 left. A triple by sophomore Vincent Payne (Frederick, Md./St. Maria Goretti) gave RMC its largest lead of 43 at 70-27 with 4:30 remaining. Sophomore Can Dalli (Istanbul, Turkey/Perkiomen School) nailed a trey with 1:20 left that made the final 73-36.

BY THE NUMBERS

• R-MC extended its home win streak to 63 games, a program record and the longest current streak in all NCAA divisions. The Yellow Jackets broke the Division III record of 62, set by North Park from 1984-1988.
• The RMC defense held Wilson to its lowest point total of the season.
• Mallory did not have a blocked shot for the first time this season. He has 267 for his career, a program and ODAC record.
• RMC had two players score in double figures with 15 by Talbert and 14 by Mallory. Payne added nine off the bench.
• Mallory was 6 for 9 from the floor.
• Mallory has 1,444 career points to sit in 15th place on RMC's career scoring list.
• Talbert has 1,255 career points to hold 28th place on RMC's career scoring list.
• Freshman Keishawn Pulley, Jr. (Louisa, Va./St. Christopher's) led the Yellow Jackets with five assists and Talbert dished out four.
• Talbert has 365 career assists, good for eighth on the program's career assists list.
• RMC outrebounded WC 47-29. Mallory had 10, while Pulley pulled down seven.
• Mallory has 831 career rebounds, passing Jesse Hellyer (1981-85) for fourth place on RMC's career rebounding list.
• Talbert led the Yellow Jackets with three steals.
• Talbert has 194 career steals, passing Tim Smith (1999-03) for second in program history.

FOR THE RECORD

• The Yellow Jackets extended their win streak to 26 games.
• RMC won its ninth straight NCAA Tournament contest. The Yellow Jackets are 31-30 in NCAA Tournament games, the first time in program history that RMC is above the .500 mark.

NEXT UP

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, RMC will host Scranton on Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. Scranton rallied for a 65-64 victory over North Carolina Wesleyan in the first round.