RALEIGH, NC – The William Peace men's basketball team jumped out to 5-0 lead and never trailed in their conference home opener against Methodist University, as the Pacers won on Tucker Jordan Night, 81-63.
WPU (6-9, 2-2 USAS) had their most efficient offensive performance of the season in what was also the program's first-ever win over the Monarchs. The Pacers shot a season high 50% (29-of-58) from the field, assisted each of their 14 baskets in the first half and finished the game with a season high 23 dimes, the second most for a single-game in program history.
"They stayed together, played hard, and I'm very proud of them," said head coach Claude Shields. "That's how we want to play – sharing the basketball – and to have all your buckets be assisted in the first is very special. That's something we're going to talk about and hopefully continue doing."
In addition, the Pacers also played one of their best defensive games of the season, holding Methodist (6-9, 2-3 USAS) to 38% (23-of-60) shooting from the field. WPU has buckled down defensively since beginning conference play. Opponents have shot 48.6% from the field and scored 78.6 points per game against the Pacers, but so far they've limited teams in the USA South to 73.8 points at a 40.9% clip in four games.
The Pacers used an 11-0 run in the first half to extend a one-point advantage (20-19) to an 11-point cushion (31-19) with 5:07 on the clock en route to a 40-31 lead at halftime. Michael Wolf started the run with a three pointer, and following an MU turnover, Jay-Len Roberts threw down a dunk for a 25-19 advantage at the 7:34 mark.Bryson Gibson capped the run with a three-point play.
Methodist responded with a spurt of its own that halved the Monarchs' deficit to six points (35-29) on Tabias Hilliard's three-point play with 2:11 showing on the clock, before the Pacers took the aforementioned nine-point lead into the break.
The Monarchs pulled within four points (45-41) less than four points into the second half on back-to-back layups by Mike Major, but MU saw its deficit grow to 11 (56-45) onJalen Vince's layup at the 9:44 mark, and William Peace cruised to the win.
Ryan Emfinger scored a career high 18 points and equaled his career mark of eight rebounds to lead the Pacers. He also registed a pair of assist to go along with two steals and a block on the defensive end. Emfinger has emerged as a starter after walking on to the team a year ago, and his role has grown each game since.
"I'm so happy for him. Ryan is one of our hardest workers, and he's really come on strong for us" Shields said. "In practice, he's probably our best shooter, and he rebounds like this every day. so it's really just a matter of time and getting more reps.
Shawn Shaffer added 14 points, while Vince added 10 points, four rebounds, and matched his career high with eight assists. Chris Thomas contributed six points, 10 boards and four assists. Wolf had eight points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
Major led the Monarchs with 18 points, hitting 8-of-12 free throws, and added seven rebounds. Hilliard added 16 points, T.J. Gill chipped in 15 and Brandon Monk had 13 points. Chris Vinson contributed seven rebounds, and Gill had three assists.
WPU returns to action this weekend for a pair of home conference games. The Pacers tip off at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday against LaGrange, and then again on Sunday vs. Huntingdon at 1:00 p.m.
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