RALEIGH, NC – The William Peace men's basketball team won their third straight game for the first time in program history and surpassed last year's conference win total with a 92-81 win over Huntingdon this afternoon.
Ryan Emfinger dialed one up from long-distance to give WPU (8-9, 4-2 USAS) an early 7-3 edge, but the Hawks used an 8-0 run to jump ahead by four (11-7) at the 15:55 mark. Huntingdon (2-15, 1-5 USAS) led by as many as seven (22-15), but Shawn Shaffer drained a three to spark a 9-0 run and then capped it off with an offensive board and put back which gave the Pacers their first lead of the game (24-22) with nine minutes left in the first. a 15-3 WPU spurt ensued over the next five minutes as Emfinger and Chris Thomas both hit a pair of threes during the stretch, and the Pacers took a nine point (41-32) lead into the break.
WPU led by 17 (82-65) with five minutes left, but the Hawks weren't done. They stormed back with an 11-0 swing which brought them to within six (82-76) at the 2:49 mark, but the Pacers went 8-of-8 from the charity stripe the rest of the way to secure the win.
"We shot the ball well and defended pretty well at times," said head coach Claude Shields. "After the first five minutes we weren't too sharp, but we responded, continued to get better, we pushed the button in the second half and then hung on for dear life."
Both teams shot nearly identically as WPU went 29-of-67 (43.3%) from the field, while the Hawks shot 30-of-68 (44.1%). The Pacers went 13-of-35 from beyond the arc but were outshot by Huntingdon who went 12-of-28 (42.9%). However, there was a sizeable discrepancy at the free-throw line in favor of WPU. They went 21-of-26 (80.8%) from the stripe compared to the Hawk's 9-of-13 (69.2%) outing. The Pacers also out-rebounded Huntingdon, 44-36.
Emfinger scored a career high 20 points to lead the way for WPU, and he also contributed four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. Tyquan Nolan registered a double-double of 11 points and 15 rebounds. Shaffer had 16 points, five rebounds, and an assist. Nate Strother scored 15 points off the bench, while Thomas also reached double-figures with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Jerome Davis had the most impressive game of the day despite the losing effort. Jones had 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and a pair of steals.
The WPU men's basketball team will have nearly a week off before traveling to Ferrum for a 4:00 p.m. game next Saturday.
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