By Brian Hoffman
The Roanoke College men’s basketball team will make their home debut this week as they host the first Frankie Allen Tip-Off Tournament. Four teams will compete in the tournament, named for the Maroons’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder who graduated in 1971 after an All-American career at RC.
On Friday night the Maroons will open the tournament with a 6 pm game against Alfred University. Salisburg and Mary Baldwin will play in Friday’s second game at 8 pm. Friday’s losers will play in a consolation game at 1 pm Saturday, followed by the tournament championship at 3 pm.
The Maroons come into the tournament with a 1-1 record after splitting two games in the Mount Union Tournament in Alliance, Ohio last weekend. RC opened with a 90-81 loss to Maryville of Tennessee on Friday.
The Scots had a 45-32 lead at halftime, but Roanoke pulled within three with just over three minutes left to play. Maryville pushed it back to 11 points with 19 seconds left before Joshua McClary hit two free throws with nine seconds left to provide the final 90-81 margin. Kasey Draper had a game high 25 points to lead the Maroons.
On Saturday Roanoke bounced back with an 89-86 win over Whitworth. Roanoke trailed 41-34 at the half before rallying for the win. Four players reached double figures led by freshman Marcus Morgan’s 18. Draper finished with 16 with Efosa U-Edosomwan and Joshua McClary both scoring 12. Morgan’s 10 rebounds was also a team-high.
