Posted: Feb 17, 2014
Roanoke outscored Randolph 20-5 in the final four minutes of the second half of the game, but the Wildcats had a strong first half. The Maroons ran into a hot shooting WildCat team, who shot 63 percent (7-11) from behind the arc in the first half alone, and 55 percent from the field for the contest. The Maroons shot 55 percent from the field in the second half, and 17-24 from the free throw line in the game.
Daniel Eacho led the Maroons in scoring with 22 points on the night, shooting 8-13 from the field. He also shot 8-12 from the free throw line and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Eacho has now scored over 400 points this season, now with 875 for his career with two games left to play in the regular season. John Fitchett finished with 15 points and four rebounds, scoring four of his five baskets from behind the arc. Ramirez tallied 11 points and led all players in assists with five on the night. With his five assists, he moves in to 8th all-time at Roanoke in the category, passing Hilliary Scott '94 and James Pennix '88 in the process.
The WildCats jumped out to an 8-0 start over the Maroons in the first two minutes of the game, with three pointers from Corey Brown and Jason Eddie. Roanoke scored the next six consecutive points to pull back within two, all scored by Daniel Eacho. Randolph spent the next four minutes on a 13-1 run, with four different players scoring, including Tyler Crockett who netted five. With 10 minutes to play, Randolph led 23-9.
After a 7-3 WildCat run, Andrew Daniels hit a jumper, while John Fitchett hit a three-pointer as Roanoke pulled within 14, 31-17 with 6:11 in the half. In the final two minutes of the first half, Roanoke scored off of free throws from Marcus Scott and Stefan Vulevic, while Cameron Smith capped off the half with a layup. The teams entered the locker room after the first 20, with Roanoke trailing 45-25 to Randolph.
John Fitchett led the team with eight points at the half, followed by Eacho who had seven points and three rebounds. Cameron Smith led the Maroons with four rebounds to his credit.
Daniels and Eacho scored the first baskets for Roanoke to open up the second half, pulling the Maroons back within 16, 45-29 with 17:55 to play. Roanoke was matching the WildCat offensive through the first six minutes, with Eacho and Humphries finding the bottom of the net, as Randolph held the 16-point, 49-33 margin. Eacho scored seven more points through the next eight minutes, while Julian Ramirez hit a jumper and John Fitchett drained another three pointer. With 6:34 to play in the contest, Roanoke trailed by 20, 71-51. Roanoke outscored Randolph 5-1 over the course of a minute, with 4:00 to play, with a three pointer from Ramirez and free throws from Eacho. The free throws made Eacho's 19th and 20th point of the game.
After Ramirez made his way in for another layup, Eacho took to the free throw line again for two more points, as the Maroons cut the deficit to 18, 79-61 with 3:23 to play. Roanoke kept the run going with a three-pointer from Ethan Humphries with two minutes to play, as Roanoke now trailed by 15, 79-64. On the next Roanoke possession, Darius Ford dropped in a trey as well, bringing Roanoke within 12 with 1:44 to play in the contest. Fitchett knocked down another three pointer after two WildCat free throws, followed by a Ramirez layup, allowing Roanoke to get back within 10, with 28 seconds on the clock. Eacho would score two more off of free throws down the stretch, but Roanoke fell to Randolph in the end, 82-74.
Randolph outshot Roanoke 55.3 to 47.2 percent from the field, while the Maroons led at the free throw line 70.8 to 64.5 percent. The WildCats held a narrow 32-29 advantage in rebounds on the night, as well as assists, 13-11.
Mike Ehilegbu led the WildCats in scoring with 16 points on the night. He also finished with a double-double that included 12 rebounds. Corey Brown followed in scoring with 14 points, shooting 5-8 from the field. Tyler Crockett also scored in double-digits netting 11 points in the win.
The Maroons return to action on Wednesday, February 19th as they take on Emory & Henry on the road. There will be an Alumni Social prior to the game. For information on the social, click here.
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