EMORY, Va. – The Lynchburg College Men's Basketball Team (18-5, 9-5 ODAC) was able to hold off a pair of strong rallies by Emory & Henry College (4-18, 2-12 ODAC) on Saturday afternoon as the won, 91-79, in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play at Bob Johnson Court.

The two teams battled to an 8-8 tie at the 15:21 mark of the first half. Lynchburg then went on a 23-2 run over the next 5:19 for a 31-10 advantage. The Wasps responded with an 18-4 scoring spurt to cut the margin to 35-28. The gap would remain about the same for the rest of the half, with a 44-35 score at the intermission.

After the break, Emory & Henry continued to claw its way back into the game. The Wasps started the first 5:08 with a 16-4 run to lead 51-50, their first advantage since the 18:08 mark of the first half. Lynchburg posted a 22-5 run to push the advantage back to 16 points (72-56), and kept control of the game for the final 10 minutes. E&H was able to trim the margin to 10 points three times, but would get no closer as LC went on to win 91-79.

Lynchburg's Manny Hernandez led all players with 29 points as he hit six three-pointers during the game. He also pulled down five rebounds and had five steals. Three Hornets had nine points in the contest: Michael Wims, Andrew Simmons and Alex Graves, and Graves added a team-high seven boards.

As a team, Lynchburg shot 46.0 percent (29-for-63) for the game and hit 10 shots from beyond the arc. The Hornets hit 23 of their 32 free throw attempts and scored 31 points off turnovers.

Emory & Henry was paced by freshman guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) as he posted 19 points and three rebounds, hitting four treys. Junior guard Stephen Brown (Charleston, S.C.) had 14 points as he hit four three-pointers as well while senior center Armando Murrell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and junior forward Charles Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) each had 12 points. Smith pulled down seven rebounds while Murrell had six boards. Sophomore guard Tyler Driver (Alexandria, Va.) chipped in nine points, five rebounds and five assists of his own.

The Wasps shot 54.9 percent (28-for-51) from the field and hit half of their three-point attempts (10-for-20). E&H had a slim lead in points in the paint, 34-32, but suffered from 23 turnovers.

Emory & Henry will travel to Guilford College on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m., matchup with the Quakers. The contest will be the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's squads.

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