WildCats to Face Virginia Wesleyan in Semifinals
SALEM. Va. – Caleb Pearson made six
of Randolph College's school-record 15 three-pointers and scored 21
points in the Wildcats' 75-72 Old Dominion Athletic Conference
(ODAC) Tournament quarterfinal win over Guilford College
Friday.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (17-9), in their first ODAC Men's
Basketball Tournament, advance to a semifinal matchup with
top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College. The Marlins downed #9
Washington and Lee University, 98-78, in an earlier quarterfinal
Friday.
Guilford, seeded fourth in the tournament, concludes its fifth
straight winning season with a 16-10 record.
The hot-shooting Wildcats stroked nine three-pointers in the first
half alone, nearly twice their per-game average for the season.
Leading 40-24 at the break, Randolph kept knocking down threes and
led, 61-44, after Colton Hunt's trifecta with 8:20 left in the
game.
The Quakers, who trailed by 19 early in the second half,
maintained their composure and staged a furious rally. After two
Hunt free throws gave Randolph a 71-59 edge, Guilford reeled off 13
of the game's next 15 points. Two Tobi
Akinsola free throws pulled the Quakers to within
73-72 with 41 seconds left.
Two Randolph timeouts later, Pearson drew a foul and sank two free
throws with 16 seconds remaining that opened a 75-72 Wildcats'
lead. Guilford had no time outs remaining, but Josh
Pittman still had a good look at a potentially
game-tying three that glanced off the rim as time expired.
Randolph's Hunt scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and
added six boards and two assists. Reserve teammate Timmy Clarke
tallied all 11 of his points in the first half thanks to three
three-pointers. Randolph shot an impressive 52.3 percent from the
field in their ODAC Tournament debut, including 15-of-27 (55.6%)
from three-point land.
Guilford's Pittman led all scorers with 24 points, 15 in the
second half. Akinsola finished with 15 points and contributed to
Guilford's 42-10 edge in interior scoring. Brad
Monroe chipped in eight points and had a
game-high eight rebounds. Guilford recovered from 28.6 percent
first-half shooting and shot 52.9 percent in the second half and
41.9 percent for the game.
This release is courtesy of the Guilford College
sports information department.