Previewing Saturday, January 31st in the ODAC

It’s getting late early is a quote attributed to Yankees Hall-of-Famer, Yogi Berra. That quote sums up the ODAC, 4 weeks remain in the Men’s Basketball regular season before the tournament commences on Monday, February 23^rd.  For all great ODAC information, check out ODAC Online

Standings headed into Saturday (ODAC Record, then Overall Record)

Randolph Macon 9-0, 16-2

Virginia Wesleyan 7-2, 15-3

Guilford 7-2, 14-4

Eastern Mennonite 6-3, 13-5

Hampden Sydney 4-5, 11-7

Lynchburg 4-5, 11-7

Randolph 4-5, 11-7

Bridgewater 4-5, 9-9

Washington & Lee 4-5, 7-11

Roanoke 2-7, 7-11

Emory & Henry 2-7, 3-15

Shenandoah 1-8. 2-16

NOTES

·         * The top 4 teams in the league have all won 2 or more in a row (Randolph Macon-13, Virginia Wesleyan-2, Guilford-5 and Eastern Mennonite-2)

·        *  Four teams have lost two or more in a row (Hampden Sydney, Bridgewater and Emory & Henry have all lost back to back, while Randolph has dropped 3 straight)

Saturday’s Games

Randolph Macon at Lynchburg, 2:00

                Last time against each other:  Randolph Macon 53-52 on December 6 at Randolph Macon. The Hornets never trailed by more then 5 in the 2^nd half.  Lynchburg trailed by 10 points in the 1^st half, and answered with a 10-0 run. Alex Graves (Lynchburg) was the only scorer in double figures with 20 and also added 10 boards for a double double. Both teams were abysmal from the free throw line with Lynchburg winning the percentage battle shooting 57 percent (8 for 14. The Yellow Jackets shot 40 percent. Nathan Davis has never lost to Lynchburg, while at Randolph Macon, and Hiliary Scott hasn’t beaten the Yellow Jackets since being in charge at Lynchburg. Hornets last win against Randolph Macon came at Turner Gymnasium on December 6, 2006.  

                Lynchburg defeated Roanoke on the road on Wednesday, 103-101. Austen Arnold set a career high with 33 points, while Zack Burnett matched his career high with 27. Randolph Macon also escaped with a road win on Wednesday, as they knocked off Bridgewater, 58-55. Marcus Badger notched 16 for the Yellow Jackets, while Joe Hassell and Chris Hamilton each chipped in 10.

Emory & Henry at Hampden Sydney, 2:00

                This one is not happening on Saturday. Due to multiple illnesses at Hampden Sydney, the school is closed until Monday. This one will have to happen another day. That day has yet to be determined. 

Both teams are coming off mid-week losses. Hampden Sydney fell  to Washington & Lee 77-67 in Lexington.  The Tigers were 7 of 20 beyond the arc, while W&L knocked down 10 triples to go along with 23 points from the foul line. Jake Duncan’s 26 led Hampden Sydney. Meanwhile, Emory & Henry almost shocked Guilford, falling to the Quakers in double OT, 91-88. Three Wasps players played over 40 minutes, and the Wasps led by 12 with less then 8 minutes to go but were unable to hold off the Quakers.

Shenandoah at Randolph, 2:00

                Last time against each other: December 6, 2014, the Wildcats left Winchester with a 1 point victory over Shenandoah, 63-62. Two Wildcats came off the bench and scored double figures (Jason Eddie-13, Seth Wimbish-12) and Randolph’s bench outscored Shenandoah’s bench, 27-16.  Malcolm Clark led the Hornets with 14 points.

                Shenandoah has won 6 games in three years in the ODAC, they hope Saturday can be number 7.  The Hornets had 3 players in double figures on Wednesday against Eastern Mennonite, but only had 11 points beyond that in a 71-53 loss against Kirby Dean’s Runnin’ Royals.  Randolph fell to Virginia Wesleyan in Lynchburg on Wednesday, 82-74.  The last time Randolph lost 4 straight ODAC games dates back to the 2010-2011 season.

Roanoke at Virginia Wesleyan, 2:00

                Last time against each other:  February 15, 2014. Dave Macedo’s squad has a little something to remember here, as Roanoke pulled the upset at the Bast Center, 84-79. Andrew Daniels scored 22 for the Maroons in victory while this season’s ODAC leading scorer, Khory Moore was 0 for 7 from downtown and 3 for 17 from the floor.  Since, Moore has a streak of 14 straight ODAC games scoring in double digits.

                Khory Moore scored 29 in Wednesday’s win against Randolph. The second leading scorer in the game was Breven Lyons. Lyons scored 21 off the bench to lead the Marlins to an 82-74 victory at Randolph. In the double overtime loss against Lynchburg,  Daniel Eacho was a bright spot for theMaroons, as he notched a career high 37 points.  Roanoke hits the road again on Wednesday (at Shenandoah) before returning home next Saturday when they host Randolph. Macedo, a native of Fall River Massachusetts, will definitely be pulling for the Patriots this weekend when they go for their 4^th Super Bowl,  and Macedo will close in on a milestone next season, as he is 12 ODAC wins away from 200 in the ODAC.

Eastern Mennonite at Guilford, 4:00

                Last time against each other: Saturday January 25^th, 2014 Guilford went to Harrisonburg and took a road win against EMU, 77-63. The 3 which is a big part of the Eastern Mennonite offense, was absent last time out. The Royals only hit 4 of 25 from behind the arc.  Even though Eastern Mennonite made more free throws that day (13), Guilford didn’t miss one (10 for 10).

Matt McCarthy, the reigning ODAC player of the week, made the case for another one on Wednesday night as he scored 44 in the double overtime victory against Emory & Henry. Eastern Menonite on the other hand, recorded their last margin victory of the season in their 71-53 victory over Shenandoah. David Falk scored 16 points and recorded 15 rebounds in the victory.

Washington & Lee at Bridgewater, 4:30

        Last time against each other: December 6, 2014, Bridgewater recorded a victory in which the winner did not reach 50, when Don Burgess’ Eagles won 46-44. Washington & Lee shot 1 for 15 from downtown and made more free throws then field goals (17 free throws to 13 field goals).  Ed Reddick recorded 9 boards for the Eagles in the victory.

        Bridgewater dropped a tough one to Randolph Macon on Wednesday night, 58-55. Ed Reddick recorded a double double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, but the Eagles starting backcourt totaled zero points for the game. Washington & Lee scored 53 of their 77 points from the charity stripe (92 percent) and behind the arc in their 10 point victory over Hampden Sydney.

Enjoy the Saturday in the ODAC!!