LYNCHBURG, VA --- The EMU men's basketball team had a chance to knock off a talented Lynchburg squad on the road Saturday afternoon, but the Royals were outscored 19-3 over the final seven minutes and suffered a 74-67 loss.

David Falk (Madison, VA/Madison) capped a 9-0 run early in the second half with a three-point play, giving Eastern Mennonite their biggest lead of the game at 49-38.  The men held off a few little rallies by the Hornets, and still led by nine at 64-55 after an R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) triple with 7:20 remaining.

Lynchburg controlled the rest of the game, however, as EMU struggled on offense.  Over the final seven minutes, the Royals committed four turnovers.  To make matters worse, they couldn't hit a shot, going 1-for-11 from the floor and 1-for-3 from the free throw line.

The Hornets, meanwhile, were clicking on all cylinders and tied the score at 65-65 with 4:19 left.  Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) kept the men in front with a lay-up with 3:22 to go, but LC scored the final nine points to steal the win.

Eastern Mennonite shot just 37% in the loss, compared to 40% for Lynchburg.  The Royals were also 6-22 from long range for 27% and 17-27 from the free throw line.  While the men got a few extra possessions with a +3 turnover margin, they gave up 17 offensive rebounds to the Hornets and were out-rebounded 49-39.

Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) topped EMU with 15 points and five rebounds.  Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) pulled in a double double with 13 rebounds and 10 points to go along with a game high four steals.

Sims added 14 points while Falk had 11 counters.

Austen Arnold (Gate City, VA/Gate City) came off the bench to lead Lynchburg with 18 points and six rebounds.

The disappointing loss drops the Royals to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  Next up for EMU are the other Hornets from the ODAC, Shenandoah University.  SU comes to Harrisonburg next Wednesday.