Simon says: Randolph-Macon is heading to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

Led by 18 points by Andre Simon, the Yellow Jackets cemented their fourth straight NCAA bid with a 75-64 triumph over top seed Virginia Wesleyan in Sunday’s ODAC championship game at the Salem Civic Center.

“We knew we had to win to keep playing,” said Simon, a 6-foot-5 junior forward from Newport News. “Especially for these seniors, we knew this game might be the last game they might be able to play.”

While the victory assured third seed Macon (19-9) of playing on, Virginia Wesleyan (21-7) will find out today if it will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA. The popular thought Sunday night among D-3 insiders was Dave Macedo’s club will get the call.

“Well, I hope so, I hope so,’’ Macedo said. “I am not worried, whatever happens, happens. But I think we’ve earned it. I think our last three weeks was indicative of a bid.”

Not to mention, the Marlins have a impressive track record. They’ve made the NCAA the past nine seasons. Not to mention, they won the national crown in 2006, plus advanced to the title game in 2007.

If Macedo had his druthers, of course, his team would have snared a second straight ODAC crown Sunday and put matters to bed.

“Anytime you win the ODAC, I think it says so much,” he said. “You get the automatic [bid], and if you take care of business, you might have a chance to play at home where opposed to maybe going on the road [in the regional], but you don’t know. We’ll see what the committee thinks.’’

Playing without injured standout guard D.J. Woodmore for a second straight game, the Marlins couldn’t hang in the second half for a red-hot Macon squad that won for the 11th time in 12 games. Virginia Wesleyan shot a pedestrian-like 39.3 percent from the field (24-for-61), including only 3-for-12 from 3-point range.

“We didn’t shoot it well, but they had a lot to do with it,” said Macedo, who saw his team’s eight-game winning streak snapped. “I thought they were certainly the most physical team and they shot layups and we shot tough jumpers. They came out and just bullied us.’’

Could he have used Woodmore, whose right foot remains in a walking boot following his injury in Friday quarterfinals?

“It would have been nice, yeah, but that comes with the territory,’’ Macedo said. “It’s tough replacing a guy like D.J. But we certainly expected a little more from some guys we had and we had a tough night.’’

Macon, which knocked off No. 2 seed and 12th-ranked Hampden-Sydney 64-59 in Saturday’s semifinals, shot 65 percent (13 of 20) from the floor in the second half to assure the program’s fifth ODAC title. After starting the season 8-8, Davis’ troops have locked down opponents with suffocating defense.

“We’ve had some good defenses the last four years, but I think this is the best one,’’ Davis said. “Guys can guard multiple positions, we have guys who can guard with length, we have bigs who can make it hard to finish around the rim and we’re athletic.

“We knew we had to win. We knew we were certainly capable. And when you come to a tournament and you end up beating Guilford and Hampden-Sydney and Virginia Wesleyan, that’s about as tough a challenge as you can find.”

Chris Teasley’s 18 points paced the Marlins. Chris Astorga had 14 points and Tre Ford 13 for Wesleyan.

RANDOLPH-MACON (19-9)

Simon 8-11 2-3 18, Giggetts 3-6 0-2 6, Holmes 5-8 0-0 11, Badger 1-4 3-4 5, Sullivan 3-5 7-8 15, Jackson 2-4 0-0 4, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Hassell 4-9 3-7 11, Walker 2-3 1-1 5, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 28-51 16-25 75.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (21-7)

Astorga 4-14 5-5 14, Batson 1-4 1-2 3, Ford 5-10 3-3 13, Nady 1-7 1-2 3, Teasley 7-17 2-4 18, Crew 2-2 0-0 4, Heard 4-6 0-0 8, Owens 0-1 1-2 1, Totals 24-61 13-18 64.

Halftime — R-M 34-32. 3-point goals — R-M 3-7 (Sullivan 2-2, Holmes 1-4, Hamilton 0-1), VW 3-12 (Teasley 2-3, Astorga 1-4, Ford 0-2, Nady 0-2, Batson 0-1). Rebounds — R-M 32 (Holmes 8), VW 35 (Heard 6). Assists — R-M 15 (Badger 5), VW 4 (Nady 3). Total fouls — R-M 13, VW 18. Fouled out — None. A — 1,221.

WOMEN

Guilford 61, EMU 59

Point guard Brittany Atwater hit a layup with 6.9 seconds left to lift the No. 2 Quakers past the No. 1 Royals for their second straight ODAC title.

Steph Rheinheimer missed a contested baseline jumper at the buzzer for Eastern Mennonite (21-6), which had a school-record 14-game winning streak snapped and will find out today if it will receive an NCAA at-large bid.

Guilford, which lost twice to EMU in the regular season, was led by Morgan King’s 20 points and 14 rebounds. Atwater had 13 points.

Raiven Patterson, a former Pulaski County standout, had 12 points for cold-shooting EMU.

GUILFORD (24-4)

Nucci 3-5 1-1 7, Oglesby 2-7 4-4 8, King 8-15 4-5 20, Adams 2-6 0-5 5, Atwater 5-10 3-4 13, Drew 0-2 2-2 2, Hardin 2-6 2-4 6, Weaver 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 22-52 16-20 61.

EASTERN MENNONITE (21-6)

Patterson 4-1 4-7 12, Yoders 2-5 2-2 6, B. Ygarza 1-3 5-10 7, Baltimore 2-2 3-6 7, S. Rheinheimer 1-7 0-0 3, A. Ygarza 2-5 0-0 4, J. Rheinheimer 3-7 2-2 8, Osei 0-2 0-2 0, Zumfelde 0-1 2-2 2, Sykes 4-13 2-2 10, Totals 19-53 20-33 59.

Halftime — Guilford 36-34. 3-point goals — GC 1-4 (Adams 1-3, Atwater 0-1), EM 1-10 (S. Rheinheimer 1-5, J. Rheinheimer 0-3, Zumfelde 0-1, Patterson 0-1). Assists — GC 6 (Adams 3), EM 10 (3 with 3). Rebounds — GC 43 (King 14), EM 26 (Sykes 8). Total fouls — GC 24, EM 18. Fouled out — None. A — 481.

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