Randolph-Macon has developed a dangerous habit. But somehow, the Yellow Jackets have kept it from beating them.

  For the second time this season, Macon ran up a big lead against Hampden-Sydney, only to see it evaporate. And for the second time this season, the Yellow Jackets had one last defensive stop to scurry away with a victory.

  With 3 seconds left and R-MC leading by one, Jordan Brown (L.C. Bird) committed a non-shooting foul on Ru White (L.C. Bird) for Macon’s sixth team foul. When play resumed, White inbounded the ball to Ben Jessee (Cosby), who attempted a 3-pointer from the left side with 1 second left. The ball clanked off the rim and the buzzer sounded, giving Randolph-Macon a 61-60 win in the final regular-season game of the year.

  “We don’t want it to come down to the wire,” junior Calvin Croskey said. “But if it does, we know we’re capable of getting that last stop.”

  The victory gives the Yellow Jackets (21-4, 13-3) a share of the ODAC title with Virginia Wesley-an. Because the Marlins beat R-MC twice this year, Virginia Wesleyan gets the top seed in next week’s ODAC tournament.

  The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for H-SC (16-9, 8-8). The Tigers get the sixth seed in the tournament and will host Emory & Henry on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

  Sophomore forward Harrison George led the Tigers with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Because of foul trouble, he sat the bench late in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers didn’t appear to miss a beat without him.

  Croskey led Randolph-Macon with 13 points and was 4 of 6 from behind the arc. Eric Pugh finished with 10 points.

  In the first half, the Yellow Jackets shot at a torrid pace, making 60 percent of their field goals (15 of 25) and 54 percent of their 3-point attempts (7 of 13).

  “They were on fire,” H-SC coach Dee Vick said.

  Macon’s lead reached 19 points with about four minutes left in the first half. That’s when the H-SC defense turned the tide. The Tigers stopped the Jackets’ ability to screen, and their shots stopped falling as R-MC’s offensive production came to a halt.

  With 7:40 left in the game, Jessee hit a jumper to tie the score at 50. Big men Kevin Voelkel and Brandon Braxton hit jumpers in the next two minutes to keep Randolph-Macon on pace. With the game tied at 58, Pugh hit the winning 3-pointer from the left corner with less than a minute to go.

  “It just hits at home even more how important it is that we focus on our second-half play,” Voelkel said. “That’s what we take away from this.”
  Eric Kolenich is a staff writer for the Richmond Times Dispatch.
 
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY (16-9, 8-8 ODAC) — Ward 6, Jessee 9, White 0, George 25, O’Neill 6, Corrigan 6, Sumner 0, Williamson 4, Obradovic 0, Wetzel 4, Lumpkin 0, Potapov 0. Totals 21 14-17 60.
RANDOLPH-MACON (21-4, 13-3) — Pugh 10, Voelkel 6, Jones 7, Scheeler 0, Campion 0, Robinson 0, Desgain 5, Croskey 13, Giggetts 5, Brown 7, Braxton 8. Totals 23 7-13 61.
Halftime: RMC — 41-30. 3-point goals: HSC — George 2, Corrigan 2; RMC — Croskey 4, Pugh 2, Desgain, Brown.