North Richmond Today

MOP Mbangue Leads Top-Seeded RMC Men’s Hoops to ODAC Title

Junior Daniel Mbangue (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax), the tourney Most Outstanding Player, led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the second-ranked and top-seeded Randolph-Macon men's basketball team downed third-seeded Guilford 61-48 in the Championship Game of the 2023 ODAC Tournament to extend its win streak to 25 games.

The Basics:

Score: Randolph-Macon 61, Guilford 48

Venue: Salem Civic Center

Records: R-MC 27-1, GC 22-6

How it Happened:

• Mbangue hit a jumper on the game's first possession before the Quakers used a 12-6 spurt to go up 12-8 with 14:30 left in the first period. GC led 15-11 with 11:49 remaining before the Yellow Jackets closed the half on a 20-4 run to lead 31-19 at the break. Junior Will Coble (Charlotte, N.C./Davidson Day) hit a triple with 11 minutes left as RMC took the lead for good at 16-15. Freshman Jabril Robinson (Derwood, Md./South Kent Prep) finished the first-half run with a layup, a jumper and a three-pointer in the final three minutes. Mbangue and Robinson both had seven points, while Coble added six.
• Mbangue had the first bucket of the second half as the lead grew to 14 at 33-19. The Quakers used a 19-9 spurt to pull within four at 42-38 with 11:20 left before a layup by Mbangue and a trey by Coble extended the advantage to nine at 47-38 with 9:45 remaining. A free throw by senior Miles Mallory (Beltsville, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) pushed the lead back to 10 at 58-48 with 1:15 left. Freshman Keishawn Pulley, Jr. (Louisa, Va./St. Christopher's) hit two free throws with 30 seconds left and Mbangue made the final free throw with 15 seconds left to make the final score 61-48.

By The Numbers:

• The RMC defense held Guilford to its lowest point total of the season. The Quakers averaged 82 points in the first two ODAC tourney contests.
• Mallory had two blocked shots to give him 267 for his career, a program and ODAC record. He has had at least one block in each game this season.
• RMC had two players score in double figures and six score at least seven points. Mbangue had 18 points and senior Josh Talbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) scored 10. Coble and Robinson both had nine, while Pulley added eight and Mallory chipped in seven.
• Mbangue was 6 for 8 from the floor and 6 for 8 from the free throw line.
• Mallory has 1,430 career points to sit in 15th place on RMC's career scoring list.
• Talbert has 1,240 career points to hold 28th place on RMC's career scoring list.
• Talbert topped the Yellow Jackets with five assists and Robinson dished out four.
• Talbert has 361 career assists, passing Dave Kagey (1987-91) for eighth on the program's career assists list.
• RMC outrebounded GC 41-29. Mallory had eight, while Mbangue pulled down seven.
• Mallory has 821 career rebounds, putting him in fifth place on RMC's career rebounding list.
• Talbert led the Yellow Jackets with three steals.
• Talbert has 191 career steals, passing Jordan Brown (2007-11) for third in program history.

For the Record:

• The Yellow Jackets extended their win streak to 25 games.
• RMC won its 10th ODAC Championship, tied for the most in conference history.
• RMC is 10-8 in ODAC title games. The Yellow Jackets have won the past four ODAC Championship Games.
• The Yellow Jackets won their 50th ODAC Tournament contest. RMC is 50-24 in ODAC tourney games.
• Mallory and Talbert joined Mbangue on the All-Tournament Team. Mallory was ODAC Player of the Year, ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-ODAC First Team. Talbert was also All-ODAC First Team. Mbangue did not receive All-ODAC honors.

Original source can be found here