It was a tale of two halves for Hampden-Sydney, which bolted out to a 36-22 halftime lead courtesy of 48 percent (15-for-31) shooting in the first half, while the Tiger defense limited Randolph-Macon to just 33 percent (8-for-24) shooting from the floor. However, Hampden-Sydney could not maintain its momentum in the second half after connecting on just 7-of-26 (26%) from the floor, while the Yellow Jackets hit on 16-of-27 (59%), including 6-of-9 (67%) from beyond the arc en route to overcoming the double-digit deficit.
After halftime, the Tigers pushed their lead to 16 points, 38-22 after a jumper by junior guard Matt Guill (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus). Randolph-Macon then started on a 9-0 run to cut the Tiger lead to seven, 38-31, after a pair of buckets by Phillip Hawley and a three by Justin Moyer with 15:29 remaining. A pair of free throws by A.J. Dowell (Roanoke, VA/Salem) and a layup by Drew Prehmus (Atlanta, GA/Wesleyan) helped push the Tiger lead back to 11 (44-33), but a three by Moyer at the 13:42 mark sent the Yellow Jackets on another run, this time a 10-0 stretch that cut the Tiger lead to one, 44-43, at the 11:15 mark.
The Tigers again answered, as their lead grew back to six points, 49-43, on consecutive Guill free throws with just under ten minutes to play. A Justin Moyer jumper again ignited Randolph-Macon as the Yellow Jackets out-scored the Tigers, 10-2, over the next six minutes and grabbed a 53-51 lead on a Justin Wansley three pointer from the top of the key with 4:30 left to play.
The two teams battled to ties at 53 and 55 before a Stephen Sutherland three-pointer at the 3:14 mark put the Yellow Jackets back in the lead for good. Macon pushed its lead to as much as six points, 65-59, with 56 seconds to play, but the Tigers battled back with a Prehmus layup and a jumper by sophomore Mike Edwards (Richmond, VA/Steward School) to hold Macon to a two-point advantage (65-63) with 27 seconds remaining.
Matt Guill then stole a Justin Wansley inbounds pass and called a timeout with 24 seconds to play, giving the Tigers a chance to tie or take the lead. After the timeout, Mike Edwards had an open look at a three pointer but the shot hit off the back of the rim and bounced off the top of the backboard out-of-bounds sending possession back to Randolph-Macon with nine seconds remaining. Randolph-Macon’s Adam Krovic connected on a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give the Yellow Jackets the four-point margin of victory.
Drew Prehmus scored 17 to lead the Tigers, while Matt Guill finished with 11 points to go with six rebounds and seven assists. Hampden-Sydney battled through a poor-shooting second half in which the team missed all ten of its three-point attempts, and finished the contest shooting 38.6 percent (22-for-57) from the floor, 20 percent (4-for-20) from beyond the arc and 79 percent (15-for-19) from the line. The Tigers did out-rebound Randolph-Macon, 36-33, and forced 13 turnovers while committing just ten.
Justin Moyer scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while Stephen Sutherland finished with 11 to give the Yellow Jackets two players in double-figures in scoring. Overall, Macon shot 47 percent (24-for-51) from the floor, 47 percent (8-for-17) from beyond the arc and 68 percent (11-for-16) from the line.
Randolph-Macon returns to action Monday at 7 pm in the tournament championship contest as the Yellow Jackets take on Virginia Wesleyan, 94-83 victors over Guilford in the other semifinal.