GREENSBORO, N.C. – The quest to defend the crown atop the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) for the eighth-seeded Guilford College men's basketball team (13-12, 7-9 ODAC) begins in the Crenshaw Gym on Tuesday, February 24th as the Quakers venture for an ODAC Quarterfinals clash with top-seeded Randolph-Macon College (23-2, 14-2 ODAC), tipping off at 7:00 PM.
The first season under Head Coach
Jesse DeLoof has been about as tumultuous as one would expect for a brand-new bench boss inheriting a program with just two significant returning contributors from one of the top coaches Division-III has ever featured. But in the end, GC reached their initial goal, that being their 25th-consecutive ODAC Tournament berth and an opportunity to defend their crown, and while it has not been pretty, going 13-12 overall and 7-9 in ODAC play, their first sub-.500 ODAC season since 2002-03, but all that matters is that they are here. Anything can happen once you make the dance and if the Quakers are in any need of reassurance to that fact, they can look to themselves, as the 2024-25 Guilford squad was the first bottom-half seed to win the ODAC Championship since 2009, beating top-seeded Randolph-Macon along the way. For the Yellow Jackets, forget ODAC Title favorites, they look every bit the part of a National Title contender as the number-two ranked team in the nation at the conclusion of a 23-2 overall season and 14-2 conference campaign.
Regular Season Statistics:
| Stats |
No. 8 Guilford |
No. 1 Randolph-Macon |
| Record (Overall) |
13-12 |
23-2 |
| Record (ODAC) |
7-9 |
14-2 |
| Points per game |
93.5 |
81.3 |
| Rebounds per game |
43-4 |
38.0 |
| Assists per game |
16.6 |
16.6 |
| Steals per game |
14.8 |
9.2 |
| Blocks per game |
2.1 |
3.0 |
| Opponent points per game |
85.1 |
56.4 |
Individual Player Statistics:
| Stats |
No. 8 Guilford |
No. 1 Randolph-Macon |
| Points per game |
Braylen Salters (23.7) |
Jabril Robinson (13.1) |
| Field goal percentage (ODAC Qualifiers) |
Reynolds Escher (.552) |
Jabril Robinson (.491) |
| Three-point percentage (ODAC Qualifiers) |
Gabe Proctor (.364) |
Jabril Robinson (.438) |
| Free-throw percentage (ODAC Qualifiers) |
Braylen Salters (.841) |
Ty Showlter (.730) |
| Rebounds per game |
Rival Axselle (5.3) |
Liam Joyce (4.6) |
| Assists per game |
Kody Clayton (3.8) |
Delani Hammonds (3.3) |
| Steals per game |
Kody Clayton (2.6) |
Delani Hammonds (1.3) |
| Blocks per game |
Rival Axselle (0.9) |
Liam Joyce (0.8) |
Projected Starters
Guilford
GUARD- #0- Braylen Salters: 23.7 PTS (.386/.306/.833), 3.6 REB, 2.0 AST
GUARD - #2- Dawson Edwards: 9.0 PTS (.409/.368/.667), 5.0 REB, 2.1 AST
GUARD- #3- Gabe Proctor: 17.3 PTS (.383/.364/.817), 4.2 REB, 1.9 AST
GUARD- #11- Kody Clayton: 4.6 PTS (.333/.200/.644), 3.9 REB, 3.8 AST
GUARD - #13- Rival Axselle: 9.3 PTS (.444/.283/.622), 5.3 REB, 0.8 AST
Randolph-Macon
GUARD- #2- Keishawn Pulley Jr.: 10.2 PTS (.477/.405/.870), 4.0 REB, 1.9 AST
GUARD- #3- Jabril Robinson: 13.1 PTS (.491/.438/.833), 2.9 REB, 2.0 AST
GUARD- #5- Delani Hammonds: 7.8 PTS (.473/.367/.661), 3.8 REB, 3.3 AST
FORWARD- #13- Malcolm Hodges: 7.2 PTS (.580/.000/.333), 3.3 REB, 1.5 AST
FORWARD- #21- Liam Joyce: 7.4 PTS (.667/.000/.595), 4.6 REB, 1.3 AST
Adopting the high-octane, pressing, pushing, and scoring system of Nova Southeastern University coach, Jim Crutchfield, the new-look Quakers thrive in volume. They will finish with the ODAC's highest-scoring attack in a decade, currently netting 93.5 points, seventh-most in the nation. Pitt-Bradford transfer,
Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio), leads the way, scoring 23.7 points per game, the 14th-most in Division-III, becoming the first underclassman to lead the ODAC in scoring in the regular season since Hampden-Sydney's Harrison George in 2010-11. He gets to the free throw line as frequently as anyone in the country, ranking third nationally in makes and attempts with 200 and 240 so far this year. One of Guilford's mainstays from last year,
Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.), is the most-prolific shooter in Division-III and gives GC a second top-175 scorer, pouring in 17.3 points, ranked 173rd in the country, thanks to his Division-III-high 3.60 three point makes per game, a mark that ranks fifth in the NCAA regardless of level. Second in the nation with 90 total triples, he connects at a .364 rate that ranks 78th among national qualifiers. The reigning ODAC Defensive Player of the Week,
Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.) orchestrates the Quaker offense, dishing 3.8 assists per game, ranked 141st nationally while also being among the nation's best at getting steals, as his 66 total and 2.64 average top the league and rank 19th and 23rd nationally, respectively. Clayton paces a trio of Quakers in the top-100 for steals, as Salters and
Dawson Edwards (Durham, N.C.) are in a dead-tie with 52 steals at a 2.08 per game rate, ranked 77th and 91st in DIII. Edwards is the other battle-tested Quaker, enjoying a season as GC's leading three-point shooter among players with at least 20 tries, connecting at a .368 rate to net 9.0 points along with 65 assists, second-most on the team, and 5.0 rebounds, also second-most and including 2.52 offensive rebounds per game, the fourth-most in the ODAC and 161st-most in the nation.
Rival Axselle's (Mechanicsville, Va.) rounds out GC's opening five as the team's top rebounder, grabbing 5.3 per game. Also the team's leader in blocks, with 22, Axselle nets 9.3 points but finished strong and can be a real difference-maker on both ends when at his best. Guilford's depth has provided a great boost in the second half, specifically
Ke Edwards (Hickory, N.C.),
Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.), and
Tripp McMillen (Dobson, N.C.). Edwards has missed half the season, but the Quakers posted an 8-5 record when he played and it is easy to see why. Netting 12.7 points, he is GC's third-leading scorer, doing so with a .586 field goal percentage that would pace the ODAC and rank 39th in the nation if he qualified. He also provides much-needed energy, length, and athleticism to the Guilford rotation, grabbing 3.9 rebounds and 23 total steals in just 13 games. Esher tops GC's conference qualifiers in field goal percentage with a .552 mark, netting 9.0 points as the ODAC's number-four scoring freshman. Finally, McMillen endured a big three-week shooting slump, but had one of his better performances in GC's season finale and could make a major impact. As a team, Guilford leads the ODAC in seemingly everything including top-10 national marks in offensive rebounding, ranked second in the nation with 18.56 per game, fourth in steals, with 14.8 fifth in turnovers forced, with 22.52, sixth in turnover margin, at +9.0, and ninth in free throw makes, with 18.8 per game.
Randolph-Macon's style is a stark contrast to Guilford's as they deploy a traditional ODAC style that has seen them finish as the nation's top scoring defense, allowing just 56.4 points per game on .390 shooting by their opposition, the 15th-lowest mark nationally. Meanwhile, they are super-efficient themselves, ranking second in Division-III in field goal percentage, at .505, and fifth in three-point percentage, at .389. They also do not turnover the basketball, committing just 9.8 per game, 14th-fewest in the nation, doing so with a 1.69 assist/turnover ratio, that is seventh-best. Overall, the statistical footprint of R-MC as a team is impressive, with a ton of top-three ranks, and a top-five mark in everything except three-point attempts, free throw makes, and attempts, though their charity stripe proficiency is just a volume thing, as they are second in the league in conversion rate at the line at .715. A testament to their incredible balance, R-MC has just a single player crack the national ranks in a single category, that being an incredibly on-brand 21st rank for
Delani Hammonds in assist/turnover ratio at 2.78. The Yellow Jackets are so good and so deep, that their second unit could go toe-to-toe with many of the top units in the ODAC. They have just two double-digit scorers, but eight players who contribute 6.5 tallies or more and all of them with a field goal percentage above .470. They feature preseason All-American senior guards
Jabril Robinson and
Keishawn Pulley Jr., with those two representing R-MC's two double-digit contributors in scoring. Robinson nets 13.1 points on .491/.438/.833 shooting with Pulley Jr. right behind with 10.2 tallies on .477/.405/.870. Their heir apparent is the sophomore Hammonds who nets 7.8 points while pacing the team in assists, with 75, and steals, with 31.
Theo Antinori is the number-three scorer for the Yellow Jackets, connecting on threes at a .444 rate, the best on the team among those with at-least 50 attempts, and scoring 9.1 points.
Liam Joyce is R-MC's top forward, netting 7.4 points along with team-leading figures of 4.6 rebounds per game and 19 blocks while shooting .667. Like the guard position, R-MC has the replacement for the senior Joyce on-roster, in
Ty Showalter, as he nets 7.6 points along with 4.0 boards.
Tipoff between the Quakers and Yellow Jackets is set for 7:00 PM in the Crenshaw Gym, the winner advances to the semifinals on Friday, February 27, at 5:00 PM at the Salem Civic Center to face winner of the four-five matchup of the University of Lynchburg at Hampden-Sydney College.
#GoQuakes
