After weeks of practice, the men’s basketball team took the court Thursday night and started their 2010-11 campaign by defeating the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets 61-55 in the team’s lone exhibition game.
“I don’t think we approached it in a different way,” Head Coach Jeff Jones said. “We knew it was a quality opponent, as you can see we wanted to win the game.”
Junior Stephen Lumpkins helped establish the Eagles’ inside game in the early stages of the first half, scoring half of the Eagles’ points by the 10-minute mark.
Randolph-Macon, who entered the game ranked second in the nation for Division III schools according to D3hoops.com, attempted multiple jump shots to counter AU’s inside game. The Yellow Jackets were able to fight back once AU’s Vlad Moldoveanu was substituted for midway through the first half. Brandon Braxton carried the load for Randolph-Macon as he shot 50 percent from the floor, scored eight points and kept the score close at 31-26 at the half.
During halftime, Jones emphasized driving the ball and getting it down low against the Yellow Jacket man-to-man defense, but despite shooting 34.6 percent in the first half, Randolph-Macon capitalized on eleven second half turnovers by the Eagles. The Yellow Jackets continued to keep the game close at 38-37, with 9:41 remaining in the game. On the next two trips for the Eagles, back-to-back turnovers led to two dunks and Randolph-Macon capped a 7-0 run by taking a one-point lead.
“They’re a very good team; they were in the [Division III] Final Four last year,” Moldoveanu said. “It’s not like they’re a bad team. They made a run and I think we responded really well; last year would have been a different story.”
Lumpkins, who had been stuck at seven points since hitting a free throw to start the second half, helped spark a second half run for the Eagles. Troy Brewer hit a three-pointer, Moldoveanu made a jumper and Lumpkins added four points for a key 9-2 run that extended the Eagles’ lead to 53-45 with over three minutes remaining.
“I think in the second half, we played better defense,” Jones said. “We were able to get more stops and we were able to play against more man-to-man defense. A combination of being better defensively and not settling for three’s, allowed us to shoot more free throws in the second half.”
After the lead was cut to nine, the Yellow Jackets switched to a full court press and forced multiple turnovers. Randolph-Macon would convert on the offensive end, narrowing AU’s lead to 57-53 with less than two minutes remaining. With 56 seconds left, the Yellow Jackets were looking to make it either a one or two point game, but Lumpkins came up with a big defensive steal for the Eagles. Steve Luptak made all four free throws down the stretch to secure AU’s 61-55 victory.
Lumpkins and Moldoveanu ended the game with 16 points apiece and combined for 17 of the team’s 37 total rebounds. Moldoveanu also chipped in five assists.
The Eagles will open regular season play Friday, Nov. 12, in Bender Arena against Saint Francis University.
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