College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 73, Randolph-Macon 71 (OT)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Matt McCarthy’s (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) basket with 0.7 second left in overtime lifted Guilford College to a 73-71 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win Tuesday night.

McCarthy, who nearly won the game with a 60-foot heave that rimmed out at the end of regulation, finished with a game-high 17 points. The victory moves Guilford to 6-0 (2-0 ODAC) for the first time since 2006.

The tightly played game featured intense defense and every possession mattered. Neither team led by more than six points in the second half. There were 12 ties and 11 lead changes.

Randolph-Macon (1-3, 0-1 ODAC) held a six-point lead midway through the second half, but the Quakers erased it and went ahead by eight on an Alston Furr (King, N.C./West Stokes) layup with 4:24 left in regulation. McCarthy drained both of his three-pointers during the spurt, but the Yellow Jackets battled back. The Quakers did not score after Furr’s layup and Joe Hassell’s (Portsmouth, Va./Indian River) two free throws with 21 seconds left tied the score at 63-63.

Hassell’s layup with 34 seconds left tied the game for the 12th and final time at 71-71. The Quakers did not call a timeout and got the ball to McCarthy on the right wing. He got a step on his defender, squeezed between two collapsing Yellow Jackets and nailed a leaning runner from eight feet out just before time expired. The teams traded timeouts, but the Yellow Jackets could not muster a final shot.

After shooting less than 33 percent for the first 40 minutes, Guilford made four-of-seven field goals in overtime. The Quakers also connected on 26-of-29 free throws, compared to Randolph-Macon’s 13-for-21 shooting from the line. Furr finished with 12 points, four in overtime, along with seven rebounds. Zeb Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks off the bench. Will Koppenhaver (Boone, N.C./Watauga) added a career-high 10 points and five rebounds in 13 solid minutes. The pair helped Guilford’s reserves outscore their counterparts, 28-13. Guilford’s Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) scored eight points and collected a game-high 11 rebounds.

Hassell and Andre Simon (Newport News, Va./Menchville) both scored 17 for the Yellow Jackets. Lamont Moore (Waverly, Va./Tidewater Academy) knocked down a game-high three three-pointers and finished with 13 points. Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) added 11 markers.

Guilford returns to action Dec. 7 at league-rival Shenandoah University.

Randolph-Macon vs Guilford
11/26/13 7:35 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
GUILFORD – 73
RANDOLPH-MACON – 71

RANDOLPH-MACON (1-3, 0-1 ODAC): HASSELL, Joe 6-11 5-6 17; SIMON, Andre 6-11 5-8 17; MOORE, Lamont 5-7 0-0 13; SULLIVAN, Connor 4-13 2-3 11; WALKER, Trent 3-7 0-1 6; HOLMES, Akeem 2-5 0-0 4; JACKSON, Evan 1-1 1-3 3; BADGER, Marcus 0-10 0-0 0; TAYLOR, Michael 0-3 0-0 0; HAMILTON, Chris 0-1 0-0 0; DOZIER, Braeshaun 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-69 13-21 71.

GUILFORD (6-0, 2-0 ODAC): McCARTHY, Matt 6-15 3-3 17; RICHARDSON, Zeb 4-9 4-4 12; FURR, Alston 5-14 1-2 12; KOPPENHAVER, Will 1-2 8-8 10; HOPKINS, Jake 2-8 4-4 8; HYATT, Trever 1-6 2-3 4; SPAINHOUR, Josh 0-2 4-5 4; STOKELY, Robbie 2-5 0-0 4; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-1 0-0 2; GREENE, Cole 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 26-29 73.

   Randolph-Macon................   31   32    8  -   71
   Guilford......................   30   33   10  -   73

3-point goals–Randolph-Macon 4-17 (MOORE, Lamont 3-5; SULLIVAN, Connor 1-5; WALKER, Trent 0-1; BADGER, Marcus 0-1; TAYLOR, Michael 0-3; HAMILTON, Chris 0-1; SIMON, Andre 0-1), Guilford 3-11 (McCARTHY, Matt 2-7; FURR, Alston 1-2; HYATT, Trever 0-1; SPAINHOUR, Josh 0-1).
Fouled out–Randolph-Macon-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Randolph-Macon 44 (HASSELL, Joe 10), Guilford 43 (HOPKINS, Jake 11).
Assists–Randolph-Macon 10 (SULLIVAN, Connor 2; BADGER, Marcus 2; HASSELL, Joe 2; MOORE, Lamont 2), Guilford 8 (HOPKINS, Jake 3).
Total fouls–Randolph-Macon 22, Guilford 19.
Technical fouls–Randolph-Macon-None, Guilford-None.
A-385

Old Dominion Athletic Conference game