College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 85, Shenandoah 75

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior guard Matt McCarthy (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) scored a season-high 27 points in Guilford College’s 85-75 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win over visiting Shenandoah University Saturday.

The Quakers (11-4, 4-2 ODAC) saw a 20-point halftime lead trimmed to five in the second half before McCarthy and his teammates sealed the win with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch.

Malcolm Clark sparked the Hornets’ (1-14, 0-6 ODAC) rally by scoring all 14 of his points in the second half. Shenandoah connected on 67 percent of its second-half field goals in the comeback.

Aaron Patterson’s three-pointer with 4:26 remaining in regulation drew Shenandoah to within 69-62 and his layup with 1:37 left made it a 76-71 game three minutes later. The Quakers clung to the five-point edge before McCarthy drove the baseline and converted a traditional three-point play with 39 seconds left, which opened an 81-73 edge. Shenandoah’s Xavier Alston answered with a layup with 31 seconds remaining, but his team drew no closer as Guilford made four-of-six free throws in the final 18 seconds.

McCarthy knocked down four three-pointers on the way to his fifth 20-point game of the season. He also matched his career high with a game-best six steals and dished out three assists. Classmate Jonny Rice (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford (Washington and Lee)) contributed 17 points and seven rebounds and teammate Will Freeman (Rice, Va./Richmond Senior (N.C.)) pumped in a season-best 15 points off the bench. Guilford owned a 43-32 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive boards that led to the Quakers’ 18-6 edge in second-chance points.

Alston’s 16 points paced four Hornets in double-figure scoring. He also had a team-high six rebounds. Clark tallied 14 points before fouling out. Patterson and Eli McEathron both added 13 points for Shenandoah. The Hornets left 13 points at the free-throw line, where they made 10-of-23 attempts.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers visit league-rival Randolph College Wednesday (1/21) at 7:00 p.m.

Shenandoah vs Guilford
01/17/15 3:00 PM at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House

GUILFORD 85
SHENANDOAH 75

SHENANDOAH (1-14, 0-6 ODAC): ALSTON, Xavier 6-6 3-4 16; CLARK, Malcolm 5-8 3-6 14; McEATHRON, Eli 5-9 1-7 13; PATTERSON, Aaron 5-12 1-2 13; STARKS, Jimi 1-3 2-2 4; PRESSLEY, Brandon
1-1 0-1 3; MOODY, Walt 1-1 0-0 3; PITTMAN, Antwan 1-2 0-1 3; STEWART, Nik 1-5 0-0 2; BRENNAN, Billy 1-2 0-0 2; SORSAIA, Henry 1-3 0-0 2; LAWRENCE, Sam 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 10-23 75.

GUILFORD (11-4, 4-2 ODAC): McCARTHY, Matt 7-15 9-10 27; RICE, Jonny 5-8 6-15 17; FREEMAN, Will 5-9 5-9 15; JACKSON, Hunter 2-5 1-2 7; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-1 2-4 5; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-3 3-4 5; GREENE, Cole 2-3 0-0 4; HYATT, Trever 1-6 0-0 3; STAVES, Brandon 1-3 0-0 2; KOPPENHAVER, Will 0-0 0-0 0; HINTON, Jarred 0-1 0-0 0; ROHS, Sanders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 26-44 85.

Shenandoah....................   22   53  -   75
Guilford......................   42   43  -   85

3-point goals–Shenandoah 9-23 (McEATHRON, Eli 2-6; PATTERSON, Aaron 2-6; PRESSLEY, Brandon 1-1; CLARK, Malcolm 1-3; MOODY, Walt 1-1; PITTMAN, Antwan 1-2; ALSTON, Xavier 1-1; STEWART, Nik 0-3), Guilford 9-22 (McCARTHY, Matt 4-10; JACKSON, Hunter 2-2; HYATT, Trever 1-4; RICE, Jonny 1-2; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-1; ROHS, Sanders 0-2; STAVES, Brandon 0-1).
Fouled out–Shenandoah-CLARK, Malcolm; LAWRENCE, Sam, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Shenandoah 32 (ALSTON, Xavier 6), Guilford 43 (HOUSTON, Zachary 7; RICE, Jonny 7).
Assists–Shenandoah 12 (STARKS, Jimi 3), Guilford 11 (HINTON, Jarred 4).
Total fouls–Shenandoah 33, Guilford 25.
Technical fouls–Shenandoah-None, Guilford-RICE, Jonny.
A-400
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game