SALEM, Va. --- The Randolph College men's basketball team fired 42.9 percent from downtown Friday afternoon, connecting on nine threes as the WildCats earned a 76-57 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament Quarterfinal victory over Lynchburg College at the Salem Civic Center.

Randolph (21-5) will continue in the ODAC Tournament Saturday afternoon, taking on top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College at 6 p.m. in the semi-finals in Salem, Va. The WildCats also upped its record in the Salem Civic Center to 5-2 all-time.

The first half was very close in the early going, but thanks to the quick seven points from Mike Ehilegbu Randolph held a 10-5 lead just over three minutes into the game. LC tied the game at 15 points, but the WildCats shot forward with five unanswered points to take a 20-15 advantage.

Down the stretch of the first half, Randolph used a late 11-4 run to take a 10-point (38-28). Colton Hunt  netted 14 points in the first half to lead the WildCats, while Ehilegbu finished with 12 first-stanza points. Lynchburg was led in the first half by senior Austin Chillemi, who made four of his seven field goals for 10 points, gathering five boards as well.

In the early going of the second half, neither team could get much to go until Lynchburg junior Andrew Simmons hit a driving layup to break the ice in the second half three minutes into the half. The lead hovered around nine points for much of the next five minutes, as Randolph led 44-35 with 14 minutes to play.

The WildCats would take their biggest lead of the game to that point at the 9:20 mark of the second half, as Evan Horn  canned a three ball to make the score 54-40. The WildCats pushed the advantage up to 16 after a three-ball from Corey Brown, but LC responded to make the score 59-50 with 6:13 remaining.

Randolph showed its experience in the ODAC Tournament, going on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to pull away, advancing to the semifinals for the third consecutive season. Hunt finished with a game-high 22 points and team-best seven boards, as he went 5-of-12 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the line. Ehilegbu had a season-best 19 points, nailing 3-of-4 from downtown, while Chris Battaglia added 15 markers.

Brown finished with nine points off the bench for the WildCats, which finished with a 52.2 percent (24-46) clip from the floor. Randolph did a great job taking care of the ball, registering just 12 turnovers against the pressure from Lynchburg.

Lynchburg was paced by the 14 points from Chillemi, while Manny Hernandez added 10 points and six rebounds. Alex Graves came off the bench to score nine points and grab five boards before fouling out for the Hornets. LC shot 18-50 (36 percent) from the floor, and made just four-of-18 from the perimeter.

--- This release is courtesy of the Randolph Collge sports information department. ---
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