College Men’s Basketball Final- Guilford 71, Shenandoah 70

WINCHESTER, Va. – Will Leckonby scored 15 points in Guilford College’s 71-70 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) road basketball win over Shenandoah University Saturday. The Quakers (5-4, 2-1 ODAC) never trailed in the second half and claimed their sixth straight victory in the series with the Hornets (3-5, 0-3 ODAC).

Leckonby’s fifth and final three-pointer of the game opened a 57-50 Guilford advantage with 13:51 left in regulation, the Quakers’ largest of the second half. Christopher Chaney’s three-pointer capped an 8-2 Hornets’ run that pulled the hosts to within one point with 12 minutes left. A defensive struggle ensued as the teams combined for just 21 points in the game’s final 10 minutes. The Hornets were within a possession for most of that time.

A Marcus Curry basket opened a 71-67 Quakers’ lead with 2:20 left, which marked Guilford’s final points. Alan Dabney’s putback basket with four ticks left made it a 71-70 game. Shenandoah fouled Curry with two seconds remaining, but the Guilford senior missed two free throws. The Hornets got the rebound and quickly called a timeout to set up a final last-second shot by Jaylyn Jarrett, which missed the mark.

Leckonby made five-of-eight three-pointers off the bench to paced Guilford’s offense. He had 12 first-half points that helped Guilford turn an early 11-point deficit into a 14-point lead before Shenandoah rallied to within 43-41 at halftime. Carson Long added 11 points and seven rebounds. Jaylen Gore notched 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Kyler Gregory contributed nine points and nine rebounds for the visitors, which made 10-of-21 three-pointers (47.6%).

Avery White’s game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds paced the Hornets. Jaylen Williams added 18 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Shenandoah benefitted from 22 Quakers’ turnovers, which led to 25 points but shot just 33.8% from the floor, including nine-of-38 (23.7%) from long distance.

After a break for final exams, coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers visit Berry College December 18th at 7:00 p.m.

Photos by Andy Gore
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