The Roanoke College men had three shots to win the game in the final seconds Saturday but couldn’t get one to fall in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball game with Washington & Lee. The Maroons fell 58-57 in front of a big crowd at the Cregger Center in Salem.
This was a big game for both teams, as both came in with just one ODAC loss and looking to remain near the top of the conference standings. Roanoke led for most of the first half but entered intermission with just a one point lead at 30-29.
The second half was just as tightly contested, with neither team able to gain more than a six-point edge. With the score tied Caleb Franze made one of two free throws with 34 seconds left to give RC a 57-56 lead before W&L’s Bryce Breeden hit a layup with 18 seconds on the clock. After RC coach Clay Nunley called a timeout Marcus Morgan had a contested shot in the lane roll off the rim. Morgan than had a follow tap that wouldn’t drop, and when the ball kicked out to Jackson Bell he had a shot at the buzzer at the foul line extended that came up short as the buzzer sounded.
Gavin O’Malley paced Roanoke with 17 points and six rebounds. Morgan recorded a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while battling foul trouble, Bell had 11 points and Porter Stanley had 10 points and five rebounds.
With the loss the Maroons, who came into the game ranked 15th, fell to 9-4 overall and 2-2 in the ODAC while W&L improved to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Virginia Wesleyan leads the conference with a 3-0 ODAC mark while Randolph-Macon and Lynchburg are both 4-1 and Hampden-Sydney is tied with W&L at 3-1 as of Tuesday this week. Averett is 2-1 after beating Randolph-Macon last week, 62-60, for the Yellow Jackets’ first loss of the season.
The Maroons have another big week as Hampden-Sydney was scheduled to be here Wednesday followed by a trip to Virginia Beach Saturday to take on first place Virginia Wesleyan at 2 pm.
