College Men’s Basketball Final – #2 Guilford 82, #9 Randolph-Macon 73

ASHLAND, Va. – Rhett Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth (Presbyterian) scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half to help second-ranked Guilford College rally past number-nine Randolph-Macon College, 82-73, Saturday in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball game.

The Quakers (18-1, 9-1 ODAC) overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to claim their 14th consecutive victory. The comeback win marked Guilford’s biggest since rallying from 14 points down to beat North Carolina Wesleyan College in 2007.

The crisply played game saw both teams shoot 50 percent from the floor and combine for just 13 turnovers. Guilford (18-1, 9-1 ODAC), which had seven turnovers, made 62.5 percent of its second-half field goals and 54 percent for the game. Randolph-Macon (15-4, 6-4 ODAC) shot 55.2 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game. The Quakers won the battle of the boards, 34-23, and outscored the Yellow Jackets from the free-throw line, 25-3.

Thanks to seven three-pointers, Randolph-Macon built a 40-27 lead with 2:47 left in the half. The Quakers ended the frame on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 40-34 at halftime.

Guilford’s run extended after the intermission as it outscored the hosts, 16-5, in the first five minutes of the second half. A Tyler Sanborn (Mount Airy, N.C./Elkin) basket capped the 23-5 run over both halves and gave the Quakers a 50-45 lead. The Yellow Jackets answered and tied the game at 63 on a Brandon Braxton (Cape Charles, Va./North Hampton) free throw with 6:54 remaining. An Eric Pugh (Silver Spring, Md./James Blake) bucket gave the hosts a 67-66 edge with 4:09 to play.

A Bonner layup at the other end gave Guilford the lead for good, 68-67, with 3:52 remaining. The senior guard made all 12 free throws in the game and scored eight points in the contest’s final four minutes. Guilford sealed the win by making seven-of-nine free throws in the final 46 seconds.

Sanborn led all scorers with 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for his league-leading 16th double-double of the season. He shot 11-of-14 from the floor and added two assists. Teammate Clay Henson (Glen Alpine, N.C./Freedom) scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and added four assists for Guilford.

Braxton made eight of 12 shots from the floor and scored a team-high 19 points for the Yellow Jackets. Pugh added 15 points and a game-high six assists. Teammates Thomas Scheeler (Mahanoy City, Pa./Mahanoy Area) netted 11 points and Danny Jones (Herndon, Va./Herndon) added 10 points off the bench, which helped the Yellow Jackets’ reserves outscore their Guilford counterparts, 29-14.

The Quakers are back in action Wednesday (2/3) at 7:00 p.m. against visiting Hampden-Sydney College in Guilford’s annual game to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The Tigers upended 11th-ranked Eastern Mennonite University Saturday, 80-68, to give Guilford sole possession of first place in the ODAC standings.

Box Score
Guilford vs Randolph-Macon
01/30/10 4:00 p.m. at Ashland, Va. – Crenshaw Gymnasium
At Ashland, Va. – Crenshaw Gymnasium
GUILFORD 82, RANDOLPH-MACON 73
GUILFORD (18-1, 9-1 ODAC)
SANBORN, Tyler 11-14 4-8 26; BONNER, Rhett 4-7 12-12 22; HENSON, Clay 3-10 6-8 13; STEPHENSON, Martin 3-6 1-2 7; MONROE, Brad 2-2 1-1 5; AKINSOLA, Tobi 2-3 0-0 4; PITTMAN, Josh 1-4 1-1 3; LOWDER, Gabriel 1-2 0-0 2; ANDERSON, T.C. 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-50 25-32 82.
RANDOLPH-MACON (15-4, 6-4 ODAC)
BRAXTON, Brandon 8-12 3-6 19; PUGH, Eric 6-14 0-1 15; SCHEELER, Thomas 4-6 0-0 11; JONES, Danny 4-9 0-0 10; BROWN, Jordan 3-6 0-0 8; DESGAIN, Adam 2-3 0-0 4; CAMPION, Billy 2-4 0-0 4; CROSKEY, Calvin 1-5 0-0 2; VOELKEL, Kevin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 3-7 73.
Guilford…………………. 34 48 – 82
Randolph-Macon……………. 40 33 – 73
3-point goals–Guilford 3-14 (BONNER, Rhett 2-4; HENSON, Clay 1-5; PITTMAN, Josh 0-2; LOWDER, Gabriel 0-1; ANDERSON, T.C. 0-2), Randolph-Macon 10-27 (PUGH, Eric 3-9; SCHEELER, Thomas 3-5; BROWN, Jordan 2-3; JONES, Danny 2-6; CROSKEY, Calvin 0-3; DESGAIN, Adam 0-1).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Randolph-Macon-SCHEELER, Thomas; BROWN, Jordan.
Rebounds–Guilford 34 (SANBORN, Tyler 13), Randolph-Macon 23 (VOELKEL, Kevin 5).
Assists–Guilford 10 (HENSON, Clay 4; BONNER, Rhett 4), Randolph-Macon 14 (PUGH, Eric 6).
Total fouls–Guilford 13, Randolph-Macon 23.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Randolph-Macon-None.
A-551

Old Dominion Athletic Conference game.
Guilford is ranked second in D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Randolph-Macon is ranked ninth.