SALEM, Va. --- Senior Marcus
Badger was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player with 19
points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the title game as the
top-seeded Randolph-Macon men's basketball team outlasted No. 2
Virginia Wesleyan 81-74 in overtime in the ODAC Championship Game
Sunday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center.
The top-ranked Yellow Jackets (26-2) won their sixth ODAC title and
their 23rd consecutive game, a program record. R-MC earned the
league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Virginia
Wesleyan must wait to see if it will earn an at-large selection
onto the national stage.
After playing from behind for most of regulation, R-MC never
trailed in overtime. Badger hit a pair of free throws on the Yellow
Jackets' first OT possession before two foul shots by the Marlins
(23-5) tied it at 68. Senior Akeem Holmes made a layup on
a great pass from junior Lamont Moore and Moore sank two
free throws as R-MC matched its largest lead at 72-68 with under
three minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Nick Doyle pulled VWC
within one before a jumper by Holmes pushed R-MC's lead back to
three at 74-71 with 2:12 remaining. Badger added a free throw and
senior Chris Hamilton hit two from the charity stripe to
make it 77-71 with one minute remaining. Doyle nailed another trey
10 seconds later to make it 77-74 before a layup by senior Joe
Hassell made the score 79-74. Hamilton hit another two free
throws with one second remaining to make the final 81-74.
The Yellow Jackets trailed 62-58 with 5:30 remaining in regulation
before three-pointers by Moore and Badger gave R-MC a 64-62 edge,
its first lead since 8-7 early in the first half. Hassell made a
layup with 1:25 remaining to make it 66-62. The Marlins scored on a
follow by Kaelin Poe with 1:01 to make it a two-point contest. R-MC
committed a turnover on its next possession, setting up a final
shot for VWC. Breven Lyons missed a jumper, Cameron Owens grabbed
the rebound and tossed the ball out to Lyons, who sank a long
jumper as time expired to force the extra period.
R-MC trailed 45-38 early in the second half before an 8-1 run tied
it at 46. VWC scored five straight to push its advantage back out
to five at 51-46 before the Yellow Jackets would tie it again at
57-57 with 6:45 remaining.
Badger and Hassell made layups to give R-MC a quick 4-0 lead at the
start of the contest. The Yellow Jackets led 8-5 before the Marlins
used a 12-2 run to take a 17-10 with 11 minutes remaining in the
first period. R-MC narrowed the deficit to four at 21-17 before a
10-1 spurt by VWC made it 31-18 with 6:30 left in the half. The
Yellow Jackets scored 10 straight to cut it to three with three
minutes left. The Marlins would take a 39-34 lead to the locker
room at intermission. Badger and Hassell both had nine points for
R-MC.
Hassell finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, joining Badger
on the All-Tournament Team. Hamilton went 10 for 10 from the free
throw line as part of his 12 points. Holmes had 11 points and Moore
contributed 10 points and four assists for the Yellow Jackets.
R-MC set a season high with a field goal percentage of 59.1% (26
for 44). The Yellow Jackets were 6 for 10 on three-pointers (60.0%)
and 23 for 28 on free throws (82.1%). It was R-MC's third win over
VWC this season.
Doyle led the Marlins with 16 points.
Randolph-Macon will learn its NCAA Tournament information during
Monday's online selection show at 12:30 p.m. ET.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Breven Lyons, Virginia Wesleyan
Brandon Mitchell, Virginia Wesleyan
Khory Moore, Virginia Wesleyan
Joe Hassell, Randolph-Macon
Marcus Badger, Randolph-Macon (MVP)
--- This release is
courtesy of the Randolph-Macon College sports information
department. ---
www.rmcathletics.com