Jan 15, 2011
HARRISONBURG, VA -- On Wednesday his late heroics nearly gave the Runnin Royals a comeback win. Saturday George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) did much of his damage early before letting the team take over in a 79-67 win over Guilford in Harrisonburg. Johnson tied his career high with six three pointers as EMU even upped its conference record at 3-3.
Coming off the loss at Randolph-Macon, the Royals looked sluggish in the first half Saturday. Guilford took full advantage and quickly built a nine-point lead at 15-6.
Back-to-back triples from D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) and Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) pulled the men right back within three.
Johnson drilled his fourth trey of the half just before the break to give the men what was their biggest lead, to that point, at 35-32.
Eastern Mennonite turned up the defensive pressure in the second, and slowly scored the first four points. At the 12:13 mark, Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) got a steal and layup to push the edge to 52-41.
The lead stayed between six and eleven points the rest of the way, and Phillips took the hopes of a comeback away from Guilford with less than a minute left.
After a Quaker bucket trimmed to the lead to eight with 1:02 to go, Phillips came out of a timeout by driving the length of the floor and throwing down a monstrous dunk. EMU then scored one final bucket to produce the final 79-67 margin.
Coach Kirby Dean said the defensive effort in the final 20 minutes made the difference.
"Defensively in the second half we played pretty well," Dean said. "Even the buckets Guilford scored were pretty tough shots. It's important to build on that."
EMU shot 47% in the win, including 38% from long range. The men held Guilford to 42% overall and just 39% in the second. The Royals were also 23-29 from the free throw line to GC's 17-24.
Johnson had 17 points in the first half and added a pair of triples in the second to finish with 23. The six three pointers were a season high tied his career best.
Crawford had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) added 10 points off the bench.
Phillips got in foul trouble early but made his mark with a game high five assists.
Guilford's reigning ODAC Player of the Week, Josh Pittman, led all scorers with 27 points.
The win bumps Eastern Mennonite to 12-3 overall while the men even their Old Dominion Athletic Conference record at 3-3. Next up is a home date with rival Bridgewater on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Coming off the loss at Randolph-Macon, the Royals looked sluggish in the first half Saturday. Guilford took full advantage and quickly built a nine-point lead at 15-6.
Back-to-back triples from D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) and Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) pulled the men right back within three.
Johnson drilled his fourth trey of the half just before the break to give the men what was their biggest lead, to that point, at 35-32.
Eastern Mennonite turned up the defensive pressure in the second, and slowly scored the first four points. At the 12:13 mark, Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) got a steal and layup to push the edge to 52-41.
The lead stayed between six and eleven points the rest of the way, and Phillips took the hopes of a comeback away from Guilford with less than a minute left.
After a Quaker bucket trimmed to the lead to eight with 1:02 to go, Phillips came out of a timeout by driving the length of the floor and throwing down a monstrous dunk. EMU then scored one final bucket to produce the final 79-67 margin.
Coach Kirby Dean said the defensive effort in the final 20 minutes made the difference.
"Defensively in the second half we played pretty well," Dean said. "Even the buckets Guilford scored were pretty tough shots. It's important to build on that."
EMU shot 47% in the win, including 38% from long range. The men held Guilford to 42% overall and just 39% in the second. The Royals were also 23-29 from the free throw line to GC's 17-24.
Johnson had 17 points in the first half and added a pair of triples in the second to finish with 23. The six three pointers were a season high tied his career best.
Crawford had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) added 10 points off the bench.
Phillips got in foul trouble early but made his mark with a game high five assists.
Guilford's reigning ODAC Player of the Week, Josh Pittman, led all scorers with 27 points.
The win bumps Eastern Mennonite to 12-3 overall while the men even their Old Dominion Athletic Conference record at 3-3. Next up is a home date with rival Bridgewater on Wednesday, Jan. 19.