EMORY, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (1-0) picked up a solid, 77-69, win over Hiwassee College (2-4) to open the 2011-12 season at Bob Johnson Court.
The two teams traded baskets back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the contest before Hiwassee opened up a six point lead at the 5:55 mark in the first half. Emory & Henry then went on a 15-4 run that covered three minutes, highlighted by six points by junior guard Malcolm Green (Marshville, N.C.). The Tigers closed out the half with nine straight points to take a 41-37 lead into the locker room.
After the intermission, E&H scored seven of the first nine points to reclaim the lead at the 15:30 mark but would relinquish it just 14 seconds later. Neither squad could break away as the contest featured a total of 11 ties and 18 lead changes.
Down one (63-62) with 6:23 to play, Emroy & Henry went on an 11-2 run highlited by a dunk by sophomore forward Charles Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) to take a 73-65 lead with less than two minutes on the clock. Hiwassee would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Smith finished the night with a team-high 18 points and added eight rebounds while sophomore forward Tyler Mullins (Hazard, Ky.) had a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Damian Edwards (Boone, N.C.) had 15 points for the Wasps, hitting a game-high three treys and Green ended the contest with 12 points off the bench.
Hiwassee was paced by David Layne as he led all players with 20 points and Justin Browner with 16 points and a team-high six rebounds. Cody Lewis chipped in eight points and six rebounds as well for the Tigers.
E&H outshot Hiwassee by a 45.9 percent (28-for-61) to 37.5 percent (24-for-64) margin but the Tigers held the advantage on the glass, out rebounding the Wasps 41-39 with 11 offensive boards.
Emory & Henry will hit the hardwood this weekend when it travels to Danville, Va. to play in Averett University's Cougar Classic. The Wasps will face Virginia University of Lynchburg and host Averett on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
---E&H---