HARRISONBURG, Va. – George Johnson drained six three-pointers and scored a team-high 23 points in Eastern Mennonite University's 79-67 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win over visiting Guilford College Saturday.
The Royals (12-3, 3-3 ODAC), ranked 14th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, ended Guilford's (10-6, 4-3 ODAC) season-best five-game winning streak.
The contest marked a rematch of a 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinal affair, which Guilford won in Greensboro to make its second straight national semifinal appearance.
Johnson knocked down four three-pointers in the final 10:16 of the first half, which helped the Royals overcome a nine-point deficit. His three-pointer with six seconds left in the frame broke the game's fifth and final tie and gave the hosts a 35-32 halftime lead. Johnson scored 17 points in the first half.
Johnson hit another three during an 11-2 spurt early in the second half that spread a two-point lead into an 11-point advantage. Todd Phillips' layup capped the run at the 12:15 mark and gave the Royals a 52-41 edge. Guilford drew no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Guilford's Josh Pittman led all scorers with 27 points and added a game-best four steals. Tobi Akinsola chipped in with 11 points and Brad Monroe corralled a game-high nine rebounds for the Quakers.
Eli Crawford scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high eight boards for Eastern Mennonite. Andrew Thorne added 10 points off the bench. The Royals shot better than 53 percent from the floor (15-28) in the second half and over 47 percent for the game.
The Quakers visit league-rival Emory & Henry College Wednesday (1/19) at 7:00 p.m.
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