EMORY, Va. – The Covenant College Men's Basketball Team (1-0) finished the game on a 9-3 run to earn a 73-68 win over Emory & Henry College (0-1) Saturday afternoon at Bob Johnson Court. The game was close the entire way, with four ties and nine lead changes and a seven-point lead the largest for either team all afternoon.
Emory & Henry got out to an 8-2 lead at the 16:23 mark of the first half, but a 10-4 run by Covenant tied things up a 12 with 14:13 on the clock. The Wasps went back on the offensive, pushing their lead to seven (26-19) after a pair of free throws by junior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.). Covenant scored the next 11 points for a 30-26 advantage with 1:37 to go before the break, and would hold four-point margin at halftime as well, 34-30.
Coming out of the locker room, E&H put up a 9-0 run in the opening 3:10 of the second half to regain the lead, 39-34. Down by a 41-36 margin, the Scots fought back with a 14-2 scoring spurt which covered 5:23, to attain their largest lead of the game, 50-43. Emory & Henry rebounded to go back up by three points two and a half minutes later, but a 12-4 run by Covenant put the Scots back on top, 64-59.
Emory & Henry would score the next six points to regain the lead, but CC converted seven of 10 free throws in the final 25 seconds to earn the victory.
The Scots, who shot 45.5 percent (25-for-55) from the field and hit 10 three-pointers (47.6%) in the game saw three players reach double figures in scoring led by Ben Phelps' 18 points on six-for-six shooting from beyond the arc. T.J. Cox had 17 points, seven assists and three steals while Chris Boyd added 14 points and six rebounds.
Covenant won the battle in points off turnovers, 20-6, forcing the Wasps into 17 miscues, while only making 11 mistakes of their own. The Scots shot 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the free throw line and had 15 assists on their 25 made baskets.
Emory & Henry junior guard Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.) posted a game-high 20 points on seven-for-nine shooting with a pair of three-pointers, going four-for-four from the charity stripe. Junior forward Brandon Self (Norfok, Va.) added 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks while Turner finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and three assists, hitting seven-of-eight free throws. Freshman forward Alic Wynn (Asheville, N.C.) had six points and 11 rebounds in his collegiate debut while rookie forward Aaron Ferguson (Princeton, W.Va.) added eight points.
The Wasps held a 39-26 rebounding advantage including a 12-6 lead on the offensive glass but managed just seven second-chance points in the game. As a team, E&H shot 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field, hitting just four three pointers on 15 attempts.
Emory & Henry will be back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Buena Vista, Virginia to face off against Southern Virginia University. Tipoff between the Wasps and Knights is set for 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15