With their fourth straight win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the ODAC. Randolph-Macon is ranked #12 nationally in the most recent D3hoops.com poll, which is released on Tuesdays. The Royals fall to 4-4 on the season and 1-3 in the conference.
Randolph-Macon was ahead for most of the first half. Near the end of the period, the Yellow Jackets enjoyed a 13-point advantage, 41-28. The halftime margin was 12 points, 41-29.
The Royals were not finished, however. They put together a 22-10 run to open the second half, tying the score at 51-51 with about eight and a half minutes remaining.
Randolph-Macon regained the lead, but still Eastern Mennonite kept fighting. With the Yellow Jackets ahead 58-53 with six minutes left, the visitors outscored the hosts 8-1 over a span of three minutes to lead 61-59 at the three-minute mark.
A three-point play by Randolph-Macon senior forward Justin Wansley (Richmond, VA/Henrico) gave his team a 62-61 advantage, and the Royals would not regain the lead. The Yellow Jackets ended up outscoring Eastern Mennonite 9-2 in the last two minutes, with seven of those points coming at the foul line – one by Wansley on his three-point play, two by freshman guard Justin Short (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester), and four in a row by Carlson to close things out. The only points for the Royals down the stretch came on a layup by junior guard JoMorrae Gordon (Oakdale, CA/Pendleton County) with just five seconds left.
Following the performance by Carlson, Randolph-Macon junior forward Phil Hawley (Weirton, WV/Tri-State Christian Academy) had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting (75.0%), 10 rebounds and a career and game-high five blocked shots. Wansley added 12 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high three assists.
For Eastern Mennonite, junior forward Jason Lentz (Diana, WV/Webster County) scored 12 points, including 4-of-5 free throws (80.0%). Sophomore guard Korey Whiting (Stafford, VA/Colonial Forge) had 11 points, game-highs of 11 rebounds and four assists, plus three steals. Junior forward Jason Sager (Edinburg, VA/Central) also scored 11 points, and had eight rebounds and three steals.