For immediate release – 2/8/2012 - #219
LC Men's Basketball Registers 63-56 Win Over Randolph College

LYNCHBURG, VA – Junior Austin Chillemi tallied his second-straight 20-point game on Wednesday, helping the Lynchburg College men's basketball team defeat Randolph College 63-56 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action.

With the victory, Lynchburg goes to 14-9 overall which is the highest win total for the Hornets since the 1981 season when LC went 15-13 overall.

Chillemi also grabbed five boards along with recording two block and two steals in the victory. Sophomore Manny Hernandez scored 11 points while sophomore Xavier Parham added 10. Parham also led the team with five assists and three steals.

Randolph started the game with a quick 10-2 run in the first 3:05 of the game, before LC managed to tie the game at 12 with 13:26 remaining off a layup from senior Tucker Lucas. After the WildCats pushed their lead to 17-12 at the 12:10 mark, LC battled back to take a 20-19 lead off a three-point bucket from Parham.

Randolph's Colton Hunt hit two three-point shots in the final four minutes of the half before sophomore Harry West, Jr. nailed a three-pointer to bring LC within one point. Randolph maintained a 30-29 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, the WildCats held the lead for much of the first ten minutes and extended the advantage over the Hornets by as much as four. With 6:40 remaining in the game and with Randolph leading 48-47, Hernandez completed a crucial three-point shot to give LC a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Parham, Chillemi, and junior Brandan Conner all sank free throws in the closing minutes, leading Lynchburg to a 63-56 final score.

Hunt led Randolph with 19 points, while Derrick Woods-Morrow scored 17 and Mike Ehilegbu added 15. Randolph (10-12/5-8 ODAC) had only one other player tally any points in the contest.

The Hornets out-rebounded the Wildcats for the game (38-30) and managed 13 steals.

Lynchburg (14-9/8-6 ODAC) has two remaining games at home next week which includes a showdown with No.3 Virginia Wesleyan College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and another battle with Randolph College on February 18 at 3 p.m. LC holds a three-game lead over Washington & Lee College for fifth place in the conference standings. The top five seeds in the conference get an automatic bye in the upcoming ODAC Tournament.

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