HARRISONBURG, VA --- With 4.7 seconds left, EMU's hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of big man David Falk(Madison, Va./Madison County). At the free throw line. Despite entering the game as a 24% free throw shooter, Falk calmly swished the second of his two tosses to give the Runnin Royals a come-from-behind 78-77 win over Washington and Lee in the ODAC opener for both teams.
Falk's offensive rebound and game-winning free throw saved Eastern Mennonite on a night when they trailed much of the contest in front of their home crowd. It gave the men their first lead since being ahead 22-18 midway through the first half. W&L's Andrew Franz got off a contested three pointer as time expired, but it was well off the mark.
The first half set the tone for the game, with EMU missing defensive assignments and the Generals making them pay. Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and RaShawn Latimer(Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run) teamed up for back-to-back steals, with Yates scoring off both to give the Royals the biggest lead of the night at 22-18 with 11:31 to go in the first half.
But Washington and Lee scored the next nine points to take the lead back. They had the edge as high as 12 points before settling for a 46-36 lead at halftime. Aside from committing 11 turnover, the Generals controlled the first 20 minutes, hitting 6-of-10 three pointers.
The Royals made a few small runs in the second, but W&L kept their composure and held onto the lead each time. With 4:18 to play, the advantage was still at 74-67.
Yates then started the comeback. He converted a three-point play on a tip-in, and then added a jumper after a W&L free throw to make it 75-72. Freshman Jerome Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) buried his fourth triple of the night with 2:54 to go, locking up the score at 75-75.
Clayton Murtha scored for the Generals, but after each team missed shots, another jumper from Yates tied it back up at 77-77 with 1:39 remaining.
Falk blocked a shot on W&L's next possession, but a steal gave it back to the visitors. Yates then blocked another inside look and the Royals grabbed the rebound, holding possession in the tie game with the shot clock off. After a timeout, Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) missed a jumper in the lane but Falk grabbed the offensive board under the hoop and was quickly fouled to set up the game-winning free throw.
Led by the big man, EMU won the game on the boards. They had a 43-37 rebounding advantage, highlighted by 16-6 on the offensive glass. Falk scooped up a game high 16 caroms, including seven offensive. He also finished 9-16 from the free throw line, a surprising display after shooting just 9-37 over the season's first four games. The rest of the team was 5-11 from the stripe against W&L.
Falk led all players with his 19 points and 16 rebounds. Crump added 16 off the bench. Jones finished with 12 on his four long balls and Yates charted 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Patrick O'Connor led a balanced effort from the Generals with 15 points and 10 boards. Franz had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Murtha was good for 13 points and nine rebounds.
Eastern Mennonite improves to 4-1 with the win, while W&L slides to 2-5. The Royals head to Roanoke on Saturday, with a 2:00pm tip-off against the Maroons.