Jan 12, 2011
ASHLAND, VA -- In a game of 11 lead changes and 10 ties, a heroic effort by George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) was enough for one final tie but not enough to grab a win. Johnson single-handedly outscored Randolph-Macon 8-2 over a 16-second span, drawing EMU into a 78-78 tie with 24 seconds to play. But the Yellow Jackets finished off the game by hitting five of six free throws while Johnson missed his final two shots and R-MC dealt the men an important 83-78 loss.
Eastern Mennonite, No. 14 in this week's D3hoops.com national poll, entered Wednesday's game in Ashland with a 2-2 mark in conference play, while the No. 11 Yellow Jackets came in 5-1 in the ODAC. R-MC had also beaten EMU earlier this year on the Royals' home court.
Round two of the rivalry had just as much excitement as the first game.
Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) drilled a three to open the scoring, giving EMU the first edge. But the Yellow Jackets scored the next seven and the back-and-forth affair was on.
R-MC took a 30-29 edge into halftime as Kevin Voelkel (Pleasantville, NY/Collegiate School) hit a three just before the buzzer.
Midway through the second, the Royals took their biggest lead of the night as All-American Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) hit a jumper to cap an 11-2 run, making the score 50-42.
The Yellow Jackets quickly chiseled the lead down to a single possession and then regained the lead with 2:09 left to play on a Jordan Brown (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) layup, which made it 69-67.
R-MC had the lead up to as many as six points, including where it stood at 76-70 when Johnson played superman with 40 seconds to go.
The senior guard drained a three and then hit a layup after D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) made a quick steal. After a pair of free throws, Johnson hit another triple to tie the score at 78-78 with :24 left.
A quick foul put R-MC on the free throw line, and Calvin Croskey (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) made both tosses. Johnson then missed a three pointer with 13 seconds left, forcing the Royals to foul. The Yellow Jackets made 3-of-4 free throws in the final nine seconds to seal the win, 83-78.
Johnson hit three of his seven triples in the game and finished with 15 points. Phillips had his fifth-straight 20-point effort, totalling 20 points and six rebounds before fouling out on an offensive whistle with 2:06 to play.
Hinson added 10 points and was 2-3 from long range. Orie Pancione (Augusta, WV/Hampshire) had nine rebounds and eight points before he also fouled out. Although the men were outrebounded 41-36, they had 17 offensive boards.
R-MC's Danny Jones (Herndon, Va./Herndon) led all scorers with 26 points and added eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets outshot EMU 54% to 40%, but also had more turnovers, 23-11. The Royals finally shot well from the outside, connecting on 8-of-16 three pointers. But the biggest difference was at the free throw line, where R-MC went 21-26 while EMU was 12-20.
The loss drops Eastern Mennonite to 11-3 overall and 2-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, giving them a steep climb if the men hope to repeat last season's regular season title. R-MC is 13-2 and 6-1 in the ODAC, and also holds the head-to-head tie-breaker with EMU if the teams finished with the same record.
The Runnin Royals return home this weekend to host Guilford. Game time Saturday afternoon is at 2:00pm.
Eastern Mennonite, No. 14 in this week's D3hoops.com national poll, entered Wednesday's game in Ashland with a 2-2 mark in conference play, while the No. 11 Yellow Jackets came in 5-1 in the ODAC. R-MC had also beaten EMU earlier this year on the Royals' home court.
Round two of the rivalry had just as much excitement as the first game.
Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) drilled a three to open the scoring, giving EMU the first edge. But the Yellow Jackets scored the next seven and the back-and-forth affair was on.
R-MC took a 30-29 edge into halftime as Kevin Voelkel (Pleasantville, NY/Collegiate School) hit a three just before the buzzer.
Midway through the second, the Royals took their biggest lead of the night as All-American Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) hit a jumper to cap an 11-2 run, making the score 50-42.
The Yellow Jackets quickly chiseled the lead down to a single possession and then regained the lead with 2:09 left to play on a Jordan Brown (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) layup, which made it 69-67.
R-MC had the lead up to as many as six points, including where it stood at 76-70 when Johnson played superman with 40 seconds to go.
The senior guard drained a three and then hit a layup after D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) made a quick steal. After a pair of free throws, Johnson hit another triple to tie the score at 78-78 with :24 left.
A quick foul put R-MC on the free throw line, and Calvin Croskey (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) made both tosses. Johnson then missed a three pointer with 13 seconds left, forcing the Royals to foul. The Yellow Jackets made 3-of-4 free throws in the final nine seconds to seal the win, 83-78.
Johnson hit three of his seven triples in the game and finished with 15 points. Phillips had his fifth-straight 20-point effort, totalling 20 points and six rebounds before fouling out on an offensive whistle with 2:06 to play.
Hinson added 10 points and was 2-3 from long range. Orie Pancione (Augusta, WV/Hampshire) had nine rebounds and eight points before he also fouled out. Although the men were outrebounded 41-36, they had 17 offensive boards.
R-MC's Danny Jones (Herndon, Va./Herndon) led all scorers with 26 points and added eight rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets outshot EMU 54% to 40%, but also had more turnovers, 23-11. The Royals finally shot well from the outside, connecting on 8-of-16 three pointers. But the biggest difference was at the free throw line, where R-MC went 21-26 while EMU was 12-20.
The loss drops Eastern Mennonite to 11-3 overall and 2-3 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, giving them a steep climb if the men hope to repeat last season's regular season title. R-MC is 13-2 and 6-1 in the ODAC, and also holds the head-to-head tie-breaker with EMU if the teams finished with the same record.
The Runnin Royals return home this weekend to host Guilford. Game time Saturday afternoon is at 2:00pm.