UPCOMING EVENTS
04
01 2012
Men’s basketball Randolph College at Randolph-Macon 7:00 p.m.
06-07
01 2012
Wrestling Capital District Duals at Hanover 5:00 p.m. / 9:00 a.m.
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Holmes and Cole take on case of the 7-footer King William and Hanover products help R-MC shut down pro prospect
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By Charlie Leffler cleffler@mechlocal.com There are very few 7-footers on the rosters of Division III basketball teams and even fewer that show the potential to play professionally. In the championship game of the R-MC Coaches Classic, the host Yellow Jackets faced both in the presence of Farmingdale State junior forward AJ Matthews. Matthews came into the contest averaging 23 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and with his Chris Boshlike build he had the talent to dominate any contest. “The Matthews kid is an All-American quality player,” said R-MC head coach Nathan Davis. “He’s a potential pro. He’s a nightmare matchup.” But Randolph-Macon’s defense, playing no one over 6-7, stepped up to neutralize Matthews in the second half and allow the Yellow Jackets to claim the championship 83-75. “I thought that you’ve got to give our guys a lot of credit for executing our game plan to the best of their abilities and making it tough for (Matthews) to get points,” Davis said. Two of those 6-7 players making it tough on Matthews were local products Dylan Cole, a junior out of Hanover and Akeem Holmes, a freshman from King William. Though he started the sea-
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Photos by Charlie Leffler/The Local
son opener, Cole’s production has increased of late as his tendency of foul has fallen off. “I feel like since I’ve stopped fouling, playing more and being in the game more has really done more for me,” Cole said. In R-MC’s 84-75 tournament opening victory over Baruch, Cole scored a career high 10 points while pulling down nine rebounds. Against the much taller Matthews, Cole’s production did not show up on the stat sheet but he played a vital role on defense. For Davis, Cole’s improvement has given the Yellow Jackets a boost. “The big thing for us and the reason we’ve looked better over the last two
The Mechanicsville Local January 4, 2012
days is because it’s two days where he didn’t get into foul trouble,” Davis said. “He’s an inside presence. He’s a junior so he’s strong. He’s been around for two years so he understands what we’re trying to do and when he’s able to play it makes us a better team.” But even the improved Cole was no match for Matthews early as the 7-footer appeared to be on pace to score 40 while fouling out the entire Yellow Jacket roster. Cole picked up two quick fouls Matthews notched 13 points in the first seven minutes of play. “That’s what it was looking like for a little while but we did a good job of adjusting,” Davis
said. “We ended up switching up and throwing some matchup at him because it seemed like when teams played zone they quit throwing it to him as much.” When sophomore forward Andre Simon joined Cole on the bench with two fouls, the task of stopping Matthews fell to Holmes, who had seen little playing time coming into the tournament. “Once I see the guys in front of me getting into foul trouble I automatically know I’ve got to step up because that means I’m coming in,” Holmes said. “I really didn’t want them to get into foul trouble because I felt nervous the whole time but I was fine
Randolph-Macon’s Dylan Cole and Akeem Holmes played a vital part in R-MC’s 82-75 Coaches Classic championship victory over Farmingdale St.. At left: Cole, a Hanover product, drives past the defense of Farmingdale St. 7-footer AJ Matthews to score. Above: King William product Akeem Holmes, right, slams a shot over the defense of Ibrahim Johnson (14).
after that. My team trusted me, I trusted them as well.” Holmes’ big-body presence began to neutralize Matthews’ effectiveness and limited him to three points over the final 13 minutes of the half. “He’s been playing really well in practice,” Cole said of Holmes. “He’s been coming along, just making progress every day.” Behind Matthews, the Rams ran out to an early 9-2 lead but R-MC answered with a 15-4 run of their own to take a 17-13 lead. A 7-0 run by Farmingdale
gave the Rams a 20-17 lead but R-MC once again knotted the game at 24 on a pair of free throw from freshman Marcus Badger (11 points). The Rams then pulled out to their biggest lead of the game, 35-26, when Croskey fouled Dyshaun Flournoy (21 points) on a made 3-pointer with less than three minutes left in the half. Though the Yellow Jackets executed their offense well their shots simply would not fall from outside. R-MC finished 1-for-10 see COLE, pg. 27 `