The Roanoke College men’s basketball team is off to a hot start with three decisive wins, including the championship in last week’s two-day Frankie Allen Tip-Off Classic. Roanoke defeated Southern Virginia University and Marymount in the event at the Cregger Center in Salem.
On Friday the Maroons opened with an 86-56 win over Southern Virginia. Roanoke trailed late in the first half but a huge turnaround gave RC the victory.
Roanoke missed its first seven three-point attempts, which allowed the Knights to open a 31-24 lead with under six minutes left in the first half. The Maroons closed the half on an 18-2 surge to enter halftime ahead 42-33, then used a 15-0 run early in the second half to seal the game.
All five of Roanoke’s starters reached double figure scoring, led by Marcus Morgan with 14 points on six-for-six shooting. Caleb Franze finished with 12 points and Gavin O’Malley and Jackson Bell each had 11 points and four rebounds. Patrick Clevenger posted 10 points and a game-best nine rebounds while Grant Hamilton provided firepower off the bench with three three-pointers and 11 points.
On Saturday Roanoke played Marymount in the title game and took a 73-54 win. The Maroons went ahead by nine, 17-8, midway through a low-scoring first half, but the Saints used a 12-2 run to take a 20-19 lead before RC regained the advantage 28-24 at intermission.
The Maroons came out on fire in the second half, opening a 43-28 lead after a 15-4 surge, and led by at least eight the rest of the way. Morgan scored a game-high 15 points with seven rebounds while Franze scored 14 with three assists. O’Malley posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, Porter Stanley had an efficient 12 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes and Clevenger tallied seven points and nine rebounds.
Clevenger, a senior from James River High School in Buchanan, was named the Classic MVP and junior forward Gavin O’Malley earned a spot on the All-Classic Team.
Roanoke, ranked 10th in the first D3hoops.com poll of the season, is in Salisbury, MD this weekend for two games at Salisbury University. The Maroons will play Wesleyan University on Saturday at 5 pm and host Salisbury University on Sunday at 3 pm.
