The Roanoke College men won their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball tournament championship since the 1999-2000 season last weekend, and they did it in thrilling fashion. The Maroons beat the top two seeds, Virginia Wesleyan in overtime Friday and Randolph-Macon by one point on Saturday night at the Salem Civic Center.
The Maroons entered the tournament as the third seed. They drew a tough opener as they hosted sixth seeded Washington & Lee, a team that had beaten them twice during the regular season. This time, however, the Maroons were on fire from behind the three point line, draining 14 of 30 and routing the Generals 92-68 at the Cregger Center.
“Our guys were excited for the opportunity as we felt we didn’t play as well as we were capable of playing against them during the regular season,” said RC coach Clay Nunley.
On Friday the semifinals were held at the Salem Civic Center and top-seeded Randolph-Macon beat Hampden-Sydney in the opening game, 69-41. The second game went to the wire, and beyond, as the Maroons pulled out a 78-69 win in overtime.
Ryan Truitt provided nine points in the first half as the two teams entered halftime tied 34-34. After the Marlins took a 44-40 lead with 14:38 left in regulation, Roanoke used a 17-4 run to take a nine-point edge, 57-48, with 6:27 remaining on the game clock.
The Maroons appeared to be in control with a two-point lead and Truitt on the foul line for a one-and-one with 5.4 seconds on the clock. However, he missed the front end and ODAC Player-of-the-Year Omari Deveaux drove the length of the floor, making a layup and drawing a foul at the buzzer. After a long discussion to assure the shot was on time it was deemed that it came with 0.7 seconds on the clock and Deveaux would go to the line with a chance to win the game. However, he missed the foul shot to send the game into overtime with the score tied 61-61. Both teams had scored 34 points in the first half and an identical 27 in the second.
The overtime belonged to the Maroons. Roanoke scored the first eight points of the extra session and led by at least six the rest of the way. Jackson Bell scored five of the first eight points of OT and assisted on the other three point basket.
Marcus Morgan finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Maroons. Bell compiled 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Patrick Clevenger had 13 points and five rebounds. Deveaux scored a game-high 26 points for the Marlins as their season came to an end at 19-8. Roanoke’s defense forced Virginia Wesleyan into just 27.6 percent(8-29) shooting in the second half and 30 percent (3-10) in overtime, a big key to the game.
“Guarding Virginia Wesleyan is one of the toughest things to do in the league because of their talent and athletic ability,” said Nunley. “You have to seal off driving lanes, avoid fouling, and keep them off the glass, and our group did a good job of that, especially in the second half.”
The win earned the Maroons a shot at Randolph-Macon, at the time the number one ranked team in all of Division III, on Saturday night. This one was just as exciting as the previous game, if not moreso considering what was at stake. The Yellow Jackets had a spot in the NCAA tournament locked up but the Maroons were on the bubble, needing to grab that ODAC championship berth to assure themselves a spot in the big dance.
Roanoke used the momentum from Friday’s win to get off to a fast start against Randolph-Macon. The Maroons led 28-16 at the half, only to have Randy-Mac come out and score the first six points of the second half to cut the lead to six. From there, it was a shootout to the end.
The Jackets held a six point lead, 58-52, with just 38 seconds remaining and Morgan at the line for RC. Marcus made the first of two free throws but missed the second, only to have Gavin O’Malley grab the rebound and feed a cutting Truitt for a layup to make it a one-possession game at 58-55.
Roanoke fouled and Randolph-Macon missed the front end of a one-and-one. RC’s Caleb Franze was fouled at the other end and he made both to cut the lead to one point with 22 seconds to go.
Roanoke fouled again, and again the Yellow Jackets missed on the first end of a one-and-one. That opened the door for the Maroons, and Bell banked in an off-balance shot with 8.1 seconds left to send the Roanoke side of the civic center into hysterics. The Jackets had one last chance but couldn’t connect and Morgan grabbed the rebound to seal the 59-58 win.
“We did our best to prevent them from scoring in the core,” said Nunley. “It was definitely one of the most exciting games I’ve been a part of, and an amazing comeback.”
Bell finished with 12 points and was named tournament MVP. Franze and Morgan were also on the all-tournament team, as Franze had a team-high 14 points and Morgan had 10 points and 10 rebounds. O’Malley finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and Truitt scored eight.
With the win the Maroons improved to 22-6 on the season and they’ll go into the NCAA tournament on a six game winning streak. It will be the second year in a row Roanoke has made the tournament. Last year the Maroons received an at-large bid and won their first two games to advance to the “Sweet 16.” Then they let a 19 point lead get away and lost to Catholic University in overtime to finish the season with a 25-6 record.
