Salem, VA – Trailing by six with just 38 seconds left, the Roanoke College men’s basketball team staged a stunning rally Saturday night to beat top-ranked Randolph‑Macon College 59-58 and capture the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship.
Down 58-52 late in the final minute of the ODAC title game at the Salem Civic Center, Roanoke senior Marcus Morgan sank a free throw and missed the second, but teammate Gavin O’Malley secured the rebound and passed to Ryan Truitt for a layup that brought the Maroons within one. Caleb Franze sank two clutch free throws to trim the deficit, and with 8.1 seconds left, Jackson Bell banked in a running jumper in traffic to put Roanoke ahead. A defensive stop sealed the dramatic victory.
The win marks the 11th conference title in Roanoke’s history and its first since the 1999-2000 season. The Maroons (22-6) will receive the ODAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, with the national selection show set for Monday.
Roanoke jumped out to a 28-16 lead by halftime, forcing Randolph-Macon into just 27.3 percent shooting in the first half. The Yellow Jackets rallied in the second half, using timely three-point shooting to pull ahead before the late comeback.
Bell, who scored 12 points in the title game, was named tournament MVP. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Morgan and Franze. Randolph-Macon finished the season 25-3.