Ashland, Va. -- University of Lynchburg sophomore Jordan Parham poured in a career-high 21 points as the Hornets fell to No. 1 Randolph-Macon 84-65 Saturday afternoon. 

Playing only their third game in 30 days, the Hornets faced a 10-0 deficit three minutes into play. Tharon Suggs knocked the rust off and gave the Hornets their first points of the game with a driving layup and halted Randolph-Macon's game-opening run.

Lynchburg continued to find success inside during the opening period and scored 18 points in the paint during the first half. 

Parham scored eight points after Suggs' bucket and helped Lynchburg thrash its way back into the game. Parham nailed a 3-pointer at the 14:25 mark to tie things up at 12-12. 

While Parham led the way during the comeback, Suggs stepped up as the Hornets began building a lead. The graduate student from Raleigh, N.C. scored eight points in 3:03 and put Lynchburg up 37-29 with 4:29 left in the first.

Buzz Anthony scored six points down the stretch for R-MC and cut Lynchburg's lead to 40-39 before the break.

The Yellow Jackets stormed out to another 10-point lead to open the second half. This time, the Hornets could not battle back. 

Suggs nailed a jumper with 7:28 to play and cut the deficit momentarily to single digits. Suggs finished the game with 18 points on 8-13 (61.5%) shooting. However, R-MC created a 19-point lead within the next four minutes marking the largest lead of the game. 

After Kavon James grabbed an offensive rebound, Thacker earned a trip to the line and an opportunity to secure his ninth double-double of the season. He sank the free throws with 3:08 remaining to reach 10 points. Shortly after, he tallied his 15th rebound of the game. Thacker made one more free throw down the line and finished with 11 points. The preseason All-America honorable mention leads the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in double-doubles and has the 12th-most across Division III men's basketball. 

Carrington Young also contributed to the battle on the boards with seven rebounds. 

Despite Thacker's scoring and rebounding prowess paired with Parham's 21 points, the Hornets fell to R-MC for their first ODAC loss of the season. 

Lynchburg (8-4, 2-1 ODAC) hosts Roanoke for another conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. 

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--LYN--