The Game Facts:
Score: (No. 25) Roanoke 59, (No. 1) Randolph-Macon 58
Location: Salem, Va. – Salem Civic Center
The Short story: Trailing by six points with 38 seconds remaining, the Roanoke College men's basketball team rallied to defeat the No. 1 team in the nation, Randolph-Macon College, 59-58 in the Championship Game of the 2025-26 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament.
It is the Maroons 11th title overall in program history and first since the 1999-2000 season.
The Yellow Jackets led 58-52 with 38 seconds left and
Marcus Morgan made the first of two free throws and missed the second.
Gavin O'Malley grabbed the rebound and fed a cutting
Ryan Truitt for a layup and make it a one-possession game. R-MC missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but
Caleb Franze did not miss either of his two attempts from the charity stripe to cut it to 58-57 with 22 seconds on the clock. After the Yellow Jackets missed again on the first end of a 1-and-1,
Jackson Bell banked in a running jumper in traffic with 8.1 seconds left. The Maroon defense forced a tough shot on the defensive end and Morgan grabbed the rebound to clinch the title.
How it happened:
* The contest was tied 7-7 and an 8-3 run gave Roanoke a 15-10 lead at the 10:48 mark.
*After a Yellow Jacket three-pointer at the 9:43 mark, the Maroon defense held R-MC scoreless in a 10-0 run to take a 27-13 lead with less than two minutes left in the half.
*Roanoke led 28-16 at intermission, forcing R-MC into 27.3 percent shooting overall (6-22) and 14.3 from three-point range (2-14).
*The Yellow Jackets came out firing in the second half, hitting six three-pointers in the first 10 minutes to take a 39-38 lead.
Inside the numbers:
*Bell was named the Tournament MVP and scored 12 points in the title game.
*Morgan and Franze joined Bell on the All-Tournament Team. Franze scored a team-high 14 points while Morgan had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
*O'Malley finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and
Ryan Truitt scored eight.
*Keishawn Pulley, Jr. and Jabril Robinson each scored 15 points for Randolph-Macon (25-3).
The Maroons advance into the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season, earning the ODAC's automatic bid. The NCAA Division III selection show is set for Monday at 1 p.m., where Roanoke will find out who, when and where they will play next weekend.
Video
