Box Score
ANNVILLE, Pa. - #19 Randolph-Macon overcame an upset bid by Lebanon Valley to come back and win their second Rinso Marquette Tournament title, 73-53, on Sunday.
The Dutchmen (2-2) led at the half after overcoming an stretch of poor shooting in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets (4-0) built their lead over the middle of the second half. RMC also won the Marquette Tournament in 2005-06 with a 68-57 win over LVC.
Joe Meehan spurred LVC's offense with a career-high 25 points, and
Dan Dunkelberger had 10 points and nine boards. Both were named to the all-tournament team.
Grant Becker, playing against his former team, scored 12 points.
Tournament MVP Jordan Brown poured in 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for RMC, and all-tournament team selection David Carlson had 14 off the bench. Eric Pugh drained six three-pointers on his way to 22 points.
Randolph-Macon shot 22-of-26 at the line and 9-for-18 for three, while LVC, despite committing just 13 turnovers, couldn't capitalize at the line, going 21-of-34 at the stripe and draining just two Meehan three-pointers.
RMC led early and increased it to as much as 14 midway through the half as LVC went without a field goal for over 10 minutes between Meehan's initial layup at 18:42 and Becker's bucket with 8:32 left. The Dutchmen hung in with foul shooting, and the momentum reversed late in the half as LVC heated up and RMC went cold.
After Brown's three-pointer with 5:05 left, the Yellow Jackets didn't score again in the first half; Meehan's jumper sparked an incredible 17-0 run over the final five minutes that flopped a 25-14 RMC lead into a 31-25 LVC advantage at the break.
But RMC immediately tied the game out of the break with a layup by Kevin Voelkel and two treys by Pugh, and they took the lead for good when Carlson's basket fell with 11:34 remaining. The 'Jackets slowly pulled away, going up by 10 when Pugh canned another three with 6:41 to go.
LVC pulled closer with a 5-0 spurt, but a pair of Carlson foul shots and a Brandon Braxton layup put the lead back at nine, and RMC held on in the closing moments.
The Dutchmen will host another nationally-ranked team Tuesday night as sixth-ranked rival Franklin & Marshall visits Annville.
Box Score
In the consolation game, Rutgers-Newark drained 11 three-pointers and shot 52.9 percent overall as it cruised past Penn State Harrisburg, 89-52. Rutgers-Newark's Tim Smith and Penn State Harrisburg's Steve Jones were named to the all-tournament team.
