Maroons Fall to Top-Seeded Randolph-Macon in ODAC Tournament Semifinals

Roanoke finishes the season 20-8.
Roanoke finishes the season 20-8.

THE GAME FACTS

  • Score:  No. 2 Randolph-Macon 62, Roanoke 50
  • Records:  Yellow Jackets 26-1; Maroons 20-7
  • Location: Salem, Va.
  • The Short Story: Top-seeded and nationally-ranked No. 2 Randolph-Macon held on late as the Roanoke men's basketball team fell 62-50 in the 2023 ODAC Tournament semifinals to the Yellow Jackets. Kasey Draper led the Maroons with a game-high 14 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED/HIGHLIGHTS

  • For almost the entire first half neither team could find a way to pull away from the other in a low-scoring affair. It took nearly two minutes before either team scored with Joshua McClary hitting a jumper at 18:08 for the first points in the game. R-MC responded immediately with a basket before Efosa U-Edosomwan hit his first basket of the night at 16:28. Once again the Yellow Jackets answered right away tying the score at 4-4 at 16:02.
  • After R-MC pulled ahead by four at 14:48, the Maroons went on a 7-0 stretch over the next six minutes to retake the lead 11-8 before the Yellow Jackets tied the game up for the third time at 11-11 with 8:48 on the clock. The teams would tie the score three more times before the end of the first half with R-MC taking as much as a six-point lead before Roanoke cut the lead to just two on a Justin Kuthan layup with 29 seconds left before the break.
  • The early portion of the second half was much like the start of the first with neither team able to pull away from the other as the Maroons trailed by the same distance as halftime at 17:10 remaining in the game on a McClary layup, 30-28. With the Maroons trailing 33-30, the Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead by 11 before a Draper jumper at 13:43 pulled the lead back to single digits. U-Edosomwan cut the lead to seven, 45-38, at 12:05 with a jumper with R-MC answered with a 7-0 to take a double-digit lead again. Draper cut the lead at 1:12 remaining with a jumper with the Yellow Jackets hanging on for the 62-50 win.
  • Draper recorded his fifth double-double of the season, second in a row, with his 14 points and 13 rebounds. McClary also reached double figures with 12 points.
  • The Maroons outrebounded R-MC 40-33 while also scoring more second-chance points (8-5) and points in the paint (34-28).
  • Roanoke completed its second 20-win season under head coach Clay Nunley. The Maroons finished with a 9-3 record at home between the Cregger Center and Bast Center Gym as well as a 7-2 record in road contests.
  • The Maroons finished the season averaging 76.4 points per game, 39.0 rebounds per game, and 14.1 assists per game.

SEASON COMPLETE

  • The Maroons have completed the 2022-23 season.