On Friday night, the state championship squad from less than a year ago was honored with the unveiling of the championship banner ahead of a nonleague game against Allegany-Limestone. The Cardinals fed off the emotions of the ceremony as they rolled past the Gators for a 51-39 victory.

“Tonight was the unveiling of the 2022-2023 state championship banner, which created an amazing atmosphere,” stated Randolph head coach Kevin Hind. “I believe that the atmosphere really allowed our kids to feed off the crowd playing some of the hardest defense we have yet.”

Leading the Cardinals was Drew Hind with 19 points, three assists and a steal, Roan Kelly stepped up and drilled five 3-pointers for 17 points, two assists and two steals, Griffin Nelson collected seven rebounds, Kevin McElwain grabbed 10 boards and Cooper Freeman had three steals.

“Roan had a huge shooting performance with five threes,” Hind added. “He’s been shooting really well during practice this season and we were just waiting for his breakthrough game.”

Randolph’s Roan Kelly lines up one of his five treys in Friday’s nonleague game against Allegany-Limestone. Photo by Mike Frame

The Allegany-Limestone effort was led by Carson Kwiatkowski with 15 points, but it would not be enough as the Cardinals stymied the rest of the offense.

“This is one game that was a good test for our team early in the season,” Hind stated. “Especially after suffering a loss from them last year. The kids came out with a lot of energy and played tough defense, holding Allegany to 15 points in the first half.”

ALLEGANY-LIMESTONE (39)

Conroy 1 0 2, Forrest 1 2 5, Johnson 0 2 2, Kwiatkowski 5 1 15, Frederick 0 0 0, Straub 3 1 7, Strade 2 4 8. Totals 12 10 39.

RANDOLPH (51)

Morrison 1 0 3, Kelly 5 2 17, Hind 7 2 19, Nelson 2 1 7, McElwain 1 0 3, Freeman 0 2 2, Brooks 0 0 0, Huntington 0 0 0. Totals 16 7 51.

3-point goals–Forrest, Kwiatkowski 4, Morrison, Kelly 5, Hind 3, Nelson 2, McElwain.

Allegany-Limestone 9 6 9 15 — 39

Randolph 13 16 13 9 — 51