HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Eastern Mennonite University Men's Basketball Team (2-2, 1-0 ODAC) held off a second-half rally from Emory & Henry College (2-3, 0-1 ODAC) to pick up a 81-78 victory to open Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
Eastern Mennonite stormed out to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:42 of the contest thanks to three baskets from behind the arc. The Royals held a nine point lead (34-25) with 1:53 before the break before the Wasps closed the half with five straight points to go into the locker room.
E&H kept the margin close early in the second half, cutting the gap to 45-44 (13:59) before EMU went on an 18-7 run that covered 4:21 to extend its lead to 12 (63-51). The Wasps responded with a 20-5 run of its on to take a 71-68 lead, their largest of the contest.
The Royals regained the advantage and held on for the 81-78 victory, scoring 13 of the last 20 points of the contest.
Eastern Mennonite placed four players in double figures, led by R.J. Sims with 17. Owen Longacre had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Andrew Thorne and Adam Burroughs added 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Emory & Henry, which shot 58.2 percent (32-for-55) from the field despite the loss, was paced by junior guard Malcolm Green (Marshville, N.C.) with a career-high 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting on the night, adding a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Kyle Sensabaugh (Columbus, Ohio) had 14 points while junior forward Armando Murrell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 11 points.
The Wasps will travel to Lynchburg, Va., on Wednesday to take on the Hornets of Lynchburg College. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
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