HARRISONBURG, VA --- Taking a cue from the cold weather which limited the attendance in Yoder Arena, EMU's basketball men looked sluggish in an 81-78 loss to Emory & Henry at home Saturday night. A late comeback fell inches short of forcing overtime, as a three pointer from Jerome Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) rimmed out at the buzzer.
With the loss, the Runnin Royals gave up a chance to take a commanding cushion in the race for a top four spot in the upcoming ODAC Tournament. The men still sit in fourth place with a record of 8-6. Hampden-Sydney and Lynchburg are tied for fifth at 7-7. Guilford is in third at 10-4. The top four seed earn byes into the tourney's quarterfinals in Salem, while the fifth through twelve seeds play each other in First Round games on Monday, Feb. 23. There are just two games left in the regular season.
Emory & Henry, which entered the night tied for last in the league standings, looked like the team with more on the line from the opening tip as they scored the first four points. The Wasps slowed built up the lead up to nine points at 26-17. After a flurry to finish the half, the dust settled with EHC leading 37-32 at the break.
The Royals came out strong in the second, quickly trimming the deficit to 41-39 after two free throws from David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) followed by a steal and three-point play by Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams). But in a microcosm of the night, Emory & Henry responded.
The Wasps scored on five of their next six possession to inflate to their largest lead of the game at 52-39. But with a lineup generally consisting of four freshman on the floor, the Royals quickly came back. Jones drilled three triples during a 17-4 streak, and Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) finally tied it up with a free throw at 56-56 with 10:49 to play.
EHC responded again though, and the teams traded leads and ties the rest of the way. Crump had the score re-knotted with an offensive tip-in with 2:18 left, leaving the score at 75-75.
But after that point the Royals struggled to get good shots and the Wasps slowly rebuilt their lead. The visitors couldn't close the door, though, as on three separate trips to the free throw line, EHC made just one of two attempts, leaving the lead at 80-75 with nine seconds left.
Jones hit another triple with 4.8 ticks to go, cutting it to 80-78 and giving life to small crowd. The Wasps again made just one of two free throws with 4.0 left, and the men turned back to Jones. The freshman took the outlet and dribbled across midcourt. He pulled up just short of the three point line from the right wing, but his good-looking shot at the buzzer hit the front of the rim, leaving Emory & Henry with the win.
EMU shot just 38% from the floor, and kept in the game by going 27-35 from the free throw line. Emory & Henry hit 44% of their shots, including 52% in the second half, and was 22-29 from the stripe.
Six Royals scored in double figures. Falk had 13 rebounds and 10 points, and had a personal milestone muted by the loss. With a free throw at the 18:25 mark of the second half, the center became the 22nd EMU men's basketball player to score 1000 points in his career. He now has 1005 in his career.
Yates also charted a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Crump had 11 counters and a game high four assists. James Williams (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) scored 10.
Jones and fellow freshman RaShawn Latimer (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run) combined to hit all seven of EMU's three pointers. Jones was 4-8 from outside and scored 12. Latimer was 3-5 and finished with 11 points.
Myles Turner was unstoppable for the Wasps, scoring 28 points with six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Chase Branscomb picked a fine time to has the best game of his career, as the big man came off the bench and hit a trio of three pointers, scoring a career high 17 points.
Eastern Mennonite, now 15-8 overall, heads to Bridgewater for a late season rivalry game on Wednesday. Game time at Nininger Hall is 7:00pm.