College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 60, Randolph 51

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Carson Long scored a game-high 17 points and Marcus Curry added a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in Guilford College’s 60-51 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win at Randolph College Saturday.

The Quakers (11-5, 5-2 ODAC) won for the eighth time in nine games and topped the Wildcats (6-10, 1-6 ODAC) for the second time in 10 days.

Guilford led by 11 at halftime, but the hosts opened the second half on a 17-4 run to take a brief 37-35 lead with 15:22 left in regulation. C.J. Loving made two three-pointers in the spurt, which was capped by a Justin Dula putback.

The Quakers scored the next eight points to open a 43-37 margin with 9:41 to play. Randolph’s Jerry Goodman answered with a three-pointer and it largely stayed a one-possession contest for the rest of the game. A Brian Smith layup with 3:06 left got Randolph to within 51-49, but Long delivered seven points and a clutch steal in the remaining time to secure the win.

Both clubs struggled shooting the ball in Randolph’s cozy confines. Guilford shot 37.7 percent from the floor and made just five of 25 3-pointers. The WildCats couldn’t capitalize, however, as they shot 29 percent in the first half and 34.4% for the game. Randolph was 4 for 26 (15%) from three-point range. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times. Guilford outscored Randolph in points off turnovers, 17-6.

Long made 5 of 9 shots from the floor, including three 3-pointers, in his third-highest scoring game of the season. He scored just four points in the teams’ earlier meeting. Curry collected his third double-double of the season despite 3-of-11 shooting from the floor. Jaylen Gore added nine points, six boards, and three assists.

Elijah Ford led Randolph’s scorers with eight points before fouling out. He also had a game-high 13 rebounds, 10 in the first half. Dula and Jerry Goodman both finished with seven points. WildCats’ leading scorer Sammy Hooper managed just five points on a 2-for-14 shooting night that included one 3-pointer in nine tries.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers visit league newcomer Ferrum College Wednesday (2/16) at 7:00 p.m. The Panthers are coached by former Guilford All-American Tyler Sanborn ’10.

Photos by Andy Gore
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