LEXINGTON, VA --- With host Washington and Lee forced to foul late, EMU's Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) came up big and hit two free throws with 20 seconds left, providing the final scoring in a 58-52 Royals win. Eastern Mennonite knocks off the No. 8 Generals in the ODAC Tournament First Round, and advances into the ODAC Quarterfinals to play top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan.
EMU lost twice to the Marlins during the regular season, but only by five points each time. Friday's Quarterfinal game at the Salem Civic Center starts at 1:00pm.
It was an impressive win for the Runnin Royals, who missed out on a chance to host a First Round game when they lost to Roanoke 83-81 at home Saturday night. Much of the game was played at W&L's pace, but the men still found a way to win despite scoring 19 points less than their season average.
The first half was Washington and Lee's style of ball, with limited transition opportunities. But the Royals ended the half on a 12-4 run to take a 26-23 lead into the break.
W&L scored the first four of the second half to jump back in front, 27-26, before Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) triggered a quick 6-0 spurt with four points and an assist to Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) for an emphatic fast break dunk.
Although the Generals eventually tied the score at 40-40, the Runnin Royals never trailed again. Thorne had four points in a 10-2 EMU run to push the lead to the biggest of the night at 50-42 with 3:47 remaining.
Washington and Lee got within four points twice, with the final time coming at 56-52 with 27 seconds to go. But that was when Longacre, a 52% free throw shooter, calmly swished both ends of a bonus situation at the charity stripe to lock things up. The Royals' defense forced two missed shots over the final 16 seconds to hold on for the road win.
Each team had only 13 turnovers and there were a total of just 16 free throws in the game. The Royals shot well above their season average from the stripe, however, connecting on 8-of-9 attempts. EMU made 46% of their shots from the floor, while holding Washington and Lee to 37%. The Generals struggled from outside, making on 3-of-22 three pointers for 14%.
Daniel got the offense moving for Eastern Mennonite and finished with a team high 15 points, four assists and three steals. Thorne scored all 12 of his points in the second half and added a team best seven rebounds.
Longacre was good for 12 and six boards while Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, VA/Northside) nailed a pair of early three pointers and had six points and four assists. David Falk (Madison, VA/Madison) blocked two shots.
W&L's Andrew Franz (Charlotte, NC/Ravenscroft) needed 15 shots to lead all scorers with 17 points. J.D. Ey (Charlotte, NC/Myers Park) finished his career with 12 rebounds, 11 points and six assists.
Eastern Mennonite heads to the ODAC Quarterfinals with an overall record of 15-11.