Scoring was at a premium when Randolph-Macon hosted Randolph College last Wednesday in men’s basketball. Both ODAC squads found offensive production difficult against their opponent’s pressure but the Yellow Jackets managed to score just enough to edge out a 52-49 victory.

  “It was two very good defensive teams getting after each other,” said R-MC head coach Nathan Davis. “I thought that their plan for guarding us, of every team we’ve played so far, was the best we’ve seen,” Davis said. “They’re position oriented. They’re physical. They don’t give you anything easy. They make you work for every single shot. At the other end they make you guard them for 35 seconds. It’s a tough game and they’re a tough team to play. I’m actually relieved that that’s the only time we’ve got to see them until the tournament.”

  Randolph came into the contest as the top defensive team in the ODAC, limiting opponents to 58.7 points per game and 37.5 percent shooting. On the other hand the Yellow Jackets were not known as much for their defense, standing fifth in scoring defense by giving up 71.1 points per game while allowing teams to shoot 43 percent against them; seventh among league teams.

  But the two squads were on even par facing one another. R-MC came away with 13 steals while forcing the Wildcats into 24 turnovers. Randolph came away with eight steals forcing 16 turnovers from the Jackets, most of which came on throws into the post.

  “I thought our guys did a nice job of being in position, moving their feet well and anticipating and that allowed them to get their hands on balls, hands on passes that we were able to recover,” said Randolph head coach Clay Nunley.

  For such a grinder game, Randolph shot a respectable 42.6 percent from the floor while the Yellow Jackets finished the contest at 40.7 percent. It was not a game of forcing bad shots, but instead a contest of simply being able to get shots off. Time and again each team found the shot clock running into single digits before they could get free for a shot attempt.

  “Defense is something that can be there night-in and night-out because it relies less on talent and more on effort and focus,” said Wildcat junior guard Cameron Colquitt. “Offense will come and go but when you play well defensively you’re going to have a good season.”

  “We kind of take pride in being a team that’s hard to score against in half court,” Nunley said. “Obviously we want to score more points than we did tonight but we’re trying to keep teams at a lower clip and be hard to score against.”

  However, for the players it wasn’t the most enjoyable style of play. “It’s definitely nerve-racking,” said R-MC forward Andre Simon. “But it’s always fun for us to come out on top. I’d rather have us pull it away but I’ll take the win every day.”

  Randolph’s Colton Hunt led all scorers with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting while Randolph-Macon’s Lamar Giggetts (6-of-11) and Simon (5-of-8) were the only other double-digit scorers in the game with 12 points each.

  “I thought Lamar is really starting to step up,” Davis said. “He’s the guy we’re going to down the stretch of the game to make plays.”

  The game also featured a family matchup between R-MC senior guard Adam Desgain and his younger brother Zach, a freshman guard for the Wildcats. Though Adam’s team took the win, Zach had the better night, finishing with nine points (3-of-3), four assists, eight rebounds and four turnovers. Adam finished the night with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and no turnovers. He scored only three points on 1-of-8 shooting, but his trifectia couldn’t have been more opportune. It was part of a late game run that got R-MC back into the contest when it appeared the Wildcats would pull out a win.

  The game also marked the return of Colquitt who has remade his game from his days at Atlee. No longer is he the slashing guard who must score the majority of the points and instead has taken on the role of solid support player.

  “I think the biggest difference is being more sound, taking care of the ball,” Colquitt said. “There’s less room for error in college.”

  “Credit to Cam,” Nunley said. “He’s a smart player. He realizes what he needs to do to be effective.”

  Despite battling an injured knee Colquitt came away with two points, five rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes of action.

  The first half featured a nip-and-tuck defensive grind and the two teams had a combined 10 points at the 12:29 mark. Hanover’s Dylan Cole kept R-MC in the contest early by scoring four of the Jackets first six points. Cole finished the night with six points, three rebounds, one block and one steal in 13 minutes of play.

  With the score tied at 11-11 midway through the half, Zach Desgain’s plus-one field goal was the only score in over four and half minutes of game time.

  The game was tied at 21 at the break and Randolph grabbed a quick four point advantage coming out of the locker room. But a layup from Cole was followed by a three from Calvin Croskey to put R-MC on top 26-25.

  However, the Wildcats appeared as if they would take control when a layup from Mike Ehilegbu was followed by back-to-back threes from Hunt giving Randolph a 33-26 lead.

  A layup from Giggetts momentarily stopped the bleeding but a jumper from Randolph’s Chris Battaglia was followed by a baseline drive from Colquitt to give the Wildcats a seemingly insurmountable 37-28 lead with 12:29 to play.

  But R-MC’s Jamie Robinson drilled a three and Adam Desgain followed with one of his own. Simon scored on a free throw and a layup and the game was knotted at 37 with 7:50 to play.

  Nunley was not happy with the way Randolph handled the ball during R-MC’s comeback. “We’re up nine I think then six of our next possessions were turnovers,” he said. “These guys (R-MC) are good enough to beat you without that then you just compound it with turnovers.”

  Randolph momentarily retook the lead but a pair of layups from Simon put the Jackets back on top 43-42 with less than three minutes remaining.

  R-MC appeared to have the game locked up, pulling out to a seven point lead when Croskey connected on a pair of free throws with 22 seconds to play, but Randolph wasn’t about to throw in the towel. Hunt scored on back-to-back jumpers but missed on a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

  In seven years of existence, Randolph has beaten every ODAC men’s team except Randolph-Macon. “Randolph’s got a very good basketball team,” Davis said. “I’m sure that streak’s going to come to an end at some point I just hope that it’s going to be a long time from now.”
  On Saturday, Cole scored five straight points to key an 11-2 run that closed out a 74-64 win over visiting Bridgewater for the Yellow Jackets’ fifth straight win.

  R-MC was led by 17 points from Croskey, 13 points and seven rebounds from Giggets and nine points from Cole while Desgain, Sullivan and Simon added eight each.

  The Yellow Jackets now face the toughest stretch of the season with four of the next five games on the road and do not return home until a Jan. 21 match-up with Hampden-Sydney. “It’s certainly not an easy task,” Davis said. “It will be a challenge but that’s why we play the game.”