North Richmond Today

MVP Talbert Leads #3 R-MC Men’s Hoops past #23 Stockton

 Senior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam), the tournament's Most Valuable Player, matched his season high with 19 points and added seven assists and six rebounds as the third-ranked Randolph-Macon men's basketball team topped No. 23 Stockton 79-37 in the Championship Game of the Suyes Yellow Jacket Classic on Tuesday afternoon.

The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 79, Stockton 37

Venue: Crenshaw Gym

Records: R-MC 9-1, Stockton 9-2

How it Happened:

• Sophomore Vincent Payne (Frederick, Md./St. Maria Goretti) nailed a three-pointer to snap a 6-6 tie with 12:30 left in the first half. The Ospreys pulled to within one before Talbert had eight points in a 17-0 run as the Yellow Jackets took a 26-8 advantage with 6:30 remaining. A triple by freshman Keishawn Pulley Jr. (Louisa, Va./St. Christopher's) pushed the lead to 19 at 30-11 with 3:30 remaining. Stockton scored seven straight to cut the deficit to a dozen before Talbert and freshman Jabril Robinson (Derwood, Md./South Kent Prep) had layups in the final minute as R-MC took a 34-18 lead at intermission. Talbert tallied 12 points in the first period.
• Junior Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) had two buckets as part of a 13-3 spurt to start the second half as the Yellow Jackets went up 47-21 with just under 16 minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Talbert pushed the advantage to 31 at 58-27 midway through the second period. A jumper by Robinson gave the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of 44 points at 79-35 with 2:15 left. The Ospreys hit two free throws to make the final 79-37.

By The Numbers:

• R-MC had four players score in double figures. Along with 19 by Talbert, junior Will Coble (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day) had 14, all in the second half. Mbangue and Robinson both chipped in 10. Junior Lance Johnson (South Riding, Va./Freedom) matched his season high with nine points.
• The Yellow Jackets had 20 assists on 32 field goals. Talbert had seven assists, while freshman Kyle Keener (Canton, Ga./Sequoyah) dished out five.
• Robinson paced the victors with three steals.
• Mallory matched his career best with seven blocked shots. He has 214 career blocks, tied for third all-time in the history of the ODAC.
• R-MC held Stockton to less than 20 points in each half. Over the past five halves, the Yellow Jackets have help opponents to 21 points or less.

For the Record:

• R-MC extended its home win streak to 53 games, a program record and the longest current streak in Division III.
• The Yellow Jackets held their past two opponents to less than 40 points. In four of the past five contests, R-MC had held the opposition to less than 50 points.
• Mallory joined Talbert on the All-Tournament Team, along with Kadian Dawkins and Martin Anguelov of Stockton and Da'Shawn Cook of Mary Washington.

Original source can be found here