HARRISONBURG, Va. - If you had fingernails prior to Saturday's game, chances are they were gone by the end. 

EMU led by as many as 25 until a 41-24 Lynchburg second half made for a tight game. But the Royals hit three of four freethrows down the stretch and played some lockdown defense in the final minute, holding the Hornets to just four points as EMU picked up a 65-60 win over Lynchburg. The win was the Royals third straight and moves them to 8-10, 6-5 ODAC. 

Highlights

• It was a raucous crowd at Yoder Arena as the 2010 Runnin Royals Elite Eight team was in attendance for a celebration. It was the Hornets, however, that got on the board first when TC Thacker nailed a three. That would prove to be Lynchburg's largest lead of the game as the Royals answered with a four-straight from Landon Swingler to take a 4-3 lead. After Lynchburg tied things at four, Mark Burkholder would foreshadow his big day with back-to-back baskets to put EMU ahead by four.
• Lynchburg would keep it close for the next few minutes, trailing by just five, 15-20, at the 9:48 mark. That's when the Royals blew the barn doors off. The Royals would score the next 14, keeping Lynchburg off the board for nearly seven minutes. After a Hornet basket ended their scoring drought, Chris Simmons sandwiched a Lynchburg bucket with back to back scores and Julien Hagerman nailed a three to give EMU a 41-19 lead at the break. 
• Burkholder extended the Royals lead to 24 to start the second half. Lynchburg, who went cold in the first half, started heating up to start the second, scoring seven of the first 13 points until Mizz Nyagwegwe drilled a three to push the lead back to 24, 50-26. The teams traded points before Burkholder hit a three to give EMU its biggest lead of the game, 55-30, with 13:26 left in the game. 
• The Hornets, who came back from a double-digit second half lead against the Royals just two weeks ago, never panicked. Trailing by 25, Lynchburg went on their own run, 24-4 over the next 11 minutes. After a Hornet and-one pulled UL within five, 54-59, Simmons hit a freethrow to push the lead back to six. Three straight from Lynchburg whittled the lead to three with under a minute but a Simmons layup and a pair of Burkholder freethrows pushed the lead back to seven, icing the game. Lynchburg was able to get off three shots in the final 28 seconds, only one of which dropped for the Hornets. 
• Burkholder continued his hot week, dropping a career-high 19 points on 7-12 shooting to lead the Royals offensively. He also grabbed eight rebounds. DaiJordan Brown came off the bench to add 10 for EMU while Simmons and Nyagwegwe added nine apiece. Swingler's career-high nine rebounds paced the Royals on the glass and he added two steals, his third straight game with at least one steal. 

By the Numbers

• 2014-15 - This is the first time since the 2014-15 season that EMU has taken down both Roanoke and Lynchburg in the same season. 
• 17 - With five assists, Tim Jones has at least four assists in 17 of the Royals 18 games this season. He sits second in the ODAC in total assists with 112 and second in APG with 6.2. 
•  4 - This was Burkholder's fourth straight game with a made three. His 19 points bested his previous career-high of 18, which he set in Jan. 2021 against Lynchburg. 
• 9- Prior to leading Lynchburg by 25, EMU's largest lead of the season was 16, when they held an 86-70 lead in a win over Shenandoah. 

Postgame with Brown, Burkholder and Coach Felix

What's Next

EMU will look to make it four straight wins, and three in a row at home, when they take on Virginia Wesleyan on Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 pm. 

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