The Word from Walters as Guilford reaps Randolph rewards in Ragan-Brown:Solid victory for Quakers

Courtesy of Dave Walters Guilford College Athletics…

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sophomore Matt McCarthy scored 13 of his team-high
16 points in the second half of Guilford College’s 69-65 Old Dominion
Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’s basketball win over visiting Randolph
College Wednesday.

The Quakers (14-2, 6-1 ODAC), ranked 22nd in this week’s D3hoops.com
Top 25 Poll, overcame an early 12-point deficit to secure their ninth
straight win. Randolph (13-2, 5-2 ODAC) led by as many as six points
in the second half before suffering their second straight loss after
winning their first 13 games.

McCarthy’s layup with 11:01 left in regulation capped a 13-2 Guilford
run over seven minutes of the second half. Teammate Zeb Richardson
(West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) netted five of his 11 points during
the spurt, which turned a six-point deficit into a 48-43 Guilford
lead.

Randolph answered with a 9-4 run and tied the game at 52 on Mike
Ehilegbu’s three-pointer with 7:42 left. McCarthy scored on the
Quakers’ next possession, which set off a decisive 13-3 outburst that
effectively put the game out of reach. The sophomore guard had seven
points and classmate Will Freeman added four during the run that gave
Guilford a 65-55 edge with just over three minutes remaining.
Colton Hunt and Corey Brown canned threes as Randolph reeled off eight
straight points to make it a 65-63 game with 63 seconds remaining.
Guilford made two-of-four free throws on a possession extended by the
Quakers’ ninth offensive rebound of the game. Randolph’s Hunt scored a
layup with three seconds left, but missed a free throw, which
Guilford’s Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) collected.
Hopkins was fouled and made two free throws, which sealed the win.
Guilford’s inside tandem of Richardson, Hopkins and Freeman proved too
much for Randolph. Freeman made six-of-nine shots from the floor on
the way to a season-high 15 points and five boards off the bench.
Richardson connected on five-of-eight field goals, collected two
rebounds and blocked two shots. Hopkins finished with eight points and
a game-high 10 boards. The Quakers held a 36-25 rebounding edge and
shot 51 percent from the floor. Quakers’ scoring leader Josh Pittman
(Archdale, N.C./Triniity) was held to five points, but contributed six
rebounds and four assists while committing just one turnover in 35
minutes.

Hunt, who entered the game ranked fifth among NCAA Division III
scoring leaders, led all scorers with 24 points. He also added five
rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ehilegbu and Jason Eddie both
finished with nine points. Chris Battaglia had seven points and nine
rebounds before fouling out.

Guilford heads to league-rival Washington and Lee University Saturday
(1/19) for a 2:00 p.m. contest.

Newspaper Box Score
Randolph vs Guilford
01/16/13 7:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
GUILFORD 69, RANDOLPH 65

RANDOLPH (13-2, 5-2 ODAC)
HUNT, Colton 9-17 3-5 24; EDDIE, Jason 3-5 0-0 9; EHILEGBU, Mike 3-8 0-0 9;
BATTAGLIA, Chris 3-7 1-2 7; BROWN, Corey 2-5 0-0 6; LANGLEY, DJ 2-4 0-0 4;
HORN, Evan 0-3 2-2 2; SMITH, Lucas 1-3 0-0 2; FITZGERALD, James 1-1 0-0 2;
WALTON, Zach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 6-9 65.

GUILFORD (14-2, 6-1 ODAC)
McCARTHY, Matt 6-7 2-5 16; FREEMAN, Will 6-9 3-12 15; RICHARDSON, Zeb 5-8
1-1 11; HINTON, Jarred 3-6 1-2 9; HOPKINS, Jake 3-7 2-2 8; TRACY, Travis 0-3
5-6 5; PITTMAN, Josh 2-7 1-1 5; STEVENSON, Ben 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 15-29
69.

Randolph......................   36   29  -   65
Guilford......................   33   36  -   69

3-point goals–Randolph 11-34 (EHILEGBU, Mike 3-7; EDDIE, Jason 3-5; HUNT,
Colton 3-10; BROWN, Corey 2-5; HORN, Evan 0-2; LANGLEY, DJ 0-2; BATTAGLIA,
Chris 0-3), Guilford 4-13 (McCARTHY, Matt 2-3; HINTON, Jarred 2-4; TRACY,
Travis 0-2; PITTMAN, Josh 0-3; STEVENSON, Ben 0-1). Fouled
out–Randolph-BATTAGLIA, Chris, Guilford-None. Rebounds–Randolph 25
(BATTAGLIA, Chris 9), Guilford 36 (HOPKINS, Jake 10). Assists–Randolph 10
(HUNT, Colton 4), Guilford 13 (PITTMAN, Josh 4; HINTON, Jarred 4). Total
fouls–Randolph 21, Guilford 12. Technical fouls–Randolph-None,
Guilford-None. A-405
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game
Guilford is ranked 22nd in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics