ODACcess Rapid Recap: Williamson Powers #8 H-SC’s Upset of #1 R-MC

SALEM, Va. — Upsets happen in college basketball, particularly in February and March. They just don’t usually happen like this.

The eighth-seeded Tigers of Hampden-Sydney took down the top-seeded Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets, 68-55, in a thrilling opener to the ODAC quarterfinals at Salem Civic Center.

For a time, it didn’t even look like it would be that close. The Tigers opened the contest on a 12-0 run and eventually scored 28 of the game’s first 36 points, drilling threes and hitting from the paint in equal doses, and it appeared Macon had no answer.

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But the Yellow Jackets, the only men’s ODAC team ranked in the D3hoops Top-25, were resilient in the final minutes of the first half. Macon finished the first on a 13-3 run, including the final 8 points of the period, and trailed just 31-21 entering the locker room.

The Tigers clearly felt the pressure, particularly in the middle-to-end of the second. While star and newly-named All-ODAC First Team member Khobi Williamson sat on the bench with three fouls, Macon took advantage of H-SC’s lack of size, pushing into the paint and drawing fouls at a rate that really, really irked the Tiger fans seated behind press row. The Jackets chipped away at the Hampden-Sydney advantage, first to 10, then into single digits, and finally taking it all the way down to just three, at 55-52, on a Trent Walker free-throw with 4:53 left to go.

“I felt my season slipping away,” Williamson, a senior, said about sitting on the bench while Macon mounted its comeback. “That really gave me motivation to get out there and make the most of what time was left.”

That motivation turned into an exceptional late-game performance. Williamson became the first Tiger to get to the line all afternoon after the Jackets cut the lead to three, and hit both. He proceeded to knock down both parts of the 1-and-1 on the next trip down the floor. He completed the single-handed 6-0 run with a brilliant contested shot from under the rim with the shot clock expiring.

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He would push the lead back to 10 a little while later, and Mike Murray sealed the #8-over-#1 upset with 3-of-4 from the charity stripe with under a minute to play. H-SC advances to play #5 Eastern Mennonite, which knocked off Lynchburg in the second quarterfinal.

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The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, will have to wait until Monday to see if this loss burst their NCAA Tournament bubble.

  • Final: #8 Hampden-Sydney 68, #1 Randolph-Macon 55
  • Player of the Game: Khobi Williamson (H-SC) (22 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals)

One thought on “ODACcess Rapid Recap: Williamson Powers #8 H-SC’s Upset of #1 R-MC

  1. Pingback: ODACcess Rapid Recap: #2 VWC Takes Care of Business · D3hoops.com Daily Dose

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