Guilford (10-0 / 4-0 ODAC) shot out to an early 9-2 lead with Strong accounting for seven of the Quaker points early on. Randolph-Macon battled back and took a four point lead when Adam Krovic knocked down a three-pointer, making the score 21-17 in favor of the Yellow Jackets with 10 minutes left in the half.
Following Krovic’s bucket, Guilford went on a 12-4 run to open up a 29-25 lead with all of the Quaker points coming from Strong who finished the first 20 minutes with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
GC extended its lead to 33-27 when Eric Belkoski converted a lay up with 4:40 remaining.
R-MC’s Justin Short drilled a jumper with 2:45 left to cap off a 5-0 run by the Yellow Jackets to make the score 33-32 before Tyler Sanborn hit a lay up to send GC to the locker room with a 35-32 lead at the intermission.
The Yellow Jackets came out and opened the second half on a 12-2 run fueled by Stephen Sutherland and Krovic who both had a pair of three-point field goals in the run, helping R-MC take a 44-37 lead.
The Quakers again battled back and a three-pointer by Jordan Snipes and a lay up by Strong capped off a 12-3 run and gave GC a 49-47 advantage with 15:10 to play.
The game remained close and with the score tied 64-64 with 7:14 remaining, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 run and took a 73-64 lead when Sutherland converted two free-throws with 5:08 remaining.
Strong scored the next seven points of the game to cut the R-MC lead to two at 73-71. Snipes then tied the game at 73 when he put in a lay up with 2:23 left in the contest. After stopping R-MC on its ensuing possession, Snipes sank a three-pointer to give GC the lead for good at 76-73, before he and Strong each converted two free-throws down the stretch to account for the final margin.
Sutherland poured in a season-high 20 points on the strength of five three-pointers to lead R-MC. Krovic also tallied a season-high 16 points in a losing effort, while David Carlson also had 16 points and Phil Hawley chipped in with 12.
Snipes finished the game with 18 points and eight rebounds. GC shot at a 52.4 percent clip for the game on 33-of-63 shooting from the floor.
R-MC will be back in action tomorrow when they host Emory and Henry while Guilford will travel to Virginia Wesleyan for a 2:00 p.m. tip off.