FERRUM — There’s one thing, according to Ferrum junior guard Sterling Charles, that is keeping the Panthers back from consistently notching wins over the ODAC’s top teams.
It could be rebounding one outing. Defensive breakdowns the next. Poor shooting in the other contest. There happens to be one element during the game that doesn’t click that has prevented Ferrum from toppling these upper echelon teams.
A 5 1/2-minute stretch without a field goal certainly qualified as the one thing that held Ferrum back Saturday afternoon against Randolph-Macon.
The 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets pounced during the Panthers’ drought and took the lead for good in claiming a 73-65 victory at Swartz Gymnasium.
“We’re right there. We’re literally right here,” Charles said. “There’s one thing that’s keeping us back and we’ve got to figure it out. We’re literally right there every time.”
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The Panthers (12-4, 4-3 ODAC) have lost to three of the top five teams in the ODAC standings (Virginia Wesleyan and Guilford were the others).
The loss to the Quakers in early January came by a four-point margin.
And even after the Yellow Jackets (13-3, 6-1) used a 14-3 run early in the second half to take the lead for good, the Panthers kept the deficit at one possession until the final three minutes.
R-MC held Ferrum without a field goal for the final 3 1/2 minutes.
“That’s part of basketball. You’re going to make a bunch in a row and then you’re going to miss some in a row,” Ferrum coach Patrick Corrigan said. “You’ve got to be able to withstand that.”
Ferrum guard Sterling Charles shoots a 3-pointer from the right corner during the first half of Saturday’s game against Randolph-Macon in Ferrum.
Charles scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the first half. He shot 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
“It was really just my teammates finding me the whole time,” Charles said of his first-half shooting. “That was the game plan coming in, anyway. Get the ball in the post, get it out, shoot 3s. That’s pretty much it.”
Alfredo Abel-Rivera finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
R-MC was led by Keishawn Pulley Jr. The junior guard had 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Jabril Robinson had 18 points. Malcolm Hodges finished with 15 points.
“Defensively, they got way too many good looks,” Corrigan said of R-MC’s shooting. “I thought we executed for the most part in making them make tough 2s, but we could have done a better job. Again, I didn’t think we had the same intensity in the same half as we did the first half. Those good teams make you play extra hard.”
The Panthers shot 62% from the field in the opening 20 minutes and held a 36-35 lead at halftime.
Charles’ shooting was key to the early surge. He was 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 4 from distance.
“He was the reason we had a lead in the first half, absolutely. He made some really tough shots. He made some really tough shots,” Corrigan said of Charles. “They did a pretty good job holding him down after that. They weren’t going to let him get some off after that. He did a fantastic job.”
Ferrum kept up its hot shooting from the first half by scoring on five of its first six possessions in the second half and taking a 47-42 lead on Charles’ fourth 3 with 15:40 remaining.
The Panthers followed that hot start with a 5 1/2-minute field goal drought. R-MC clamped down on the defensive end and used a 14-3 run to take a 56-50 lead with 10 1/2 minutes remaining.
Ferrum, which was 16 of 27 from the free-throw line for the game, was 3 of 7 from the charity stripe during that stretch.
“I think they’re very physical. That’s why it was really key to make those free throws,” Corrigan said. “If you go 6 for 7 there, it’s a little different. You don’t feel it quite as much.”
Ferrum scored the next five points to trim the deficit to 56-55.
Pulley’s 3-pointer with 5:37 remaining extended R-MC’s advantage to 61-57. Hodges finished with a contested layup a little less than four minutes later to put R-MC ahead 69-63.
Ferrum forward Alfredo Abel-Rivera goes up for a layup during the second half of Saturday’s game against Randolph-Macon in Ferrum.
“It’s the shots they made,” Abel-Rivera said. “They made all the big shots.”
Ferrum remains at home and will host 166su at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Maroons defeated Shenandoah 70-52 on Saturday to improve to 7-1 in league play, and they present another chance for Ferrum to get over the hump against one of the ODAC’s top teams.
“We’ve been knocking on the door to beat these top teams for three years. We’ve been right there and we haven’t gotten over the hump yet,” Corrigan said. “We understand that and we understand we’ve got to find something a little deeper. Just one or two extra plays in these close games is all it is. We’ve got to find a way to make them.”
Randolph-Macon 73, Ferrum 65
RANDOLPH-MACON (13-3)
Joyce 1-5 0-0 2, Hodges 4-7 7-11 15, Pulley Jr. 8-14 0-0 20, Robinson 6-13 5-8 18, Hammonds 0-0 2-2 2, Areikat 2-4 0-0 5, Bachman 0-0 0-0 0, Antinori 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 4-9 3-3 11, Showalter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 17-24 73.
FERRUM (12-4)
Wall 2-8 5-7 9, Abel-Rivera 6-12 2-5 14, Allen 1-4 3-3 5, Tart III 4-6 1-3 9, Charles 5-6 4-6 18, Willis Jr. 4-8 0-1 9, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Troutman 0-1 1-2 1, Measmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-45 16-27 65.
Halftime—Ferrum 36-35. 3-Point Goals—Randolph-Macon 6-16 (Pulley 4-8, Robinson 1-2, Areikat 1-2, Antinori 0-1, Showalter 0-1, Jones 0-2), Ferrum 5-13 (Charles 4-5, Willis Jr. 1-3, Allen 0-1, Tart III 0-1, Wall 0-3). Fouled Out—Charles. Rebounds—Randolph-Macon 33 (Robinson 6), Ferrum 30 (Abel-Rivera 12). Assists—Randolph-Macon 7 (Hodges 3), Ferrum 14 (Allen, Tart III 4). Total Fouls—Randolph-Macon 20, Ferrum 20. A—450.
