Cold Start Too Much To Overcome For Royals

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HARRISONBURG, VA --- A frigid start left the EMU men with a season-low point total in a 70-52 loss to powerful Guilford College Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg.

The Runnin Royals were plagued by missed shots and turnovers early on, and fell into an 18-2 hole seven minutes into play. That was all the Quakers (15-5/9-2 ODAC) needed to cement the win and move into sole possession of second in the ODAC standings.

EMU (9-10/4-6 ODAC) has lost four of their last five games, all have been against teams in the upper half of the ODAC standings. The men look to turn things around on Wednesday, making a trip to Randolph College (8-12/3-8 ODAC). Start time in Lynchburg, Va., is 7:00pm.

Against the Quakers, the men didn't hit double digits until Travis Clower (Romney, W.V./Hampshire) cashed in on a long three at the 6:26 mark. That triggered an 11-2 run over a three-minute span, with another longball from Clower getting the Royals within 25-20.

But Will Leckonby answered with a triple of his own, and Guilford closed the half on a 13-2 tear, pushing the margin back out to 38-22.

In the second half, the Quakers led by as much as 25, and a modest 6-0 run was the biggest streak EMU could muster. The Royals were within 64-50 after a jumper from Tim Jones (Forestville, Va./Central) with 3:24 to go, but they scored just two more points.

The men were out-shot 47% to 38%, including 35% to 24% from outside. Guilford kept the Royals off the free throw line and off the offensive glass to quell any attempts at a comeback.

Jones led Eastern Mennonite with 13 points, while Clower finished with nine and three steals. Sammy Thomas (Owings, Md./Northern) chipped in seven points, six rebounds and two assists. DJ Hill (Woodbridge, Va./Hylton) scored eight points off the bench.

Marcus Curry led Guilford with 16 points. Kyler Gregory added 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals.