EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (3-5) got back on the winning track with a 97-80 victory over visiting Johnson University (2-9) Wednesday evening at Bob Johnson Court. The 97 points marked the second time this season that the Wasps have eclipsed the 90-point mark and is the highest score by an E&H team since putting up 101 in last year's season-opener against Southern Virginia University.
Emory & Henry got out to a 10-6 lead at the 16:11 mark but Johnson responded to tie things up at 13 two and a half minutes later. The Wasps then went on a 33-12 scoring run over the next 8:26 to lead 46-25 with 5:07 to go before the break. JU trimmed the margin to 15 but E&H responded to take a 53-35 advantage into the locker room.
Coming out of the intermission, Emory & Henry scored the first seven points of the half for its largest lead of the game, 60-35. The Royals would get to within 15 with 9:10 left to play at 75-60, but a 10-2 run by the Wasps extended the lead 85-62. E&H stayed in the driver's seat for the remainder of the contest, despite eight straight points by Johnson to cut the margin back to 15. Emory & Henry scored seven of the game's final 10 points for the 97-80 victory.
Wasp freshman forward Aaron Ferguson (Princeton, W.Va.) posted his first career double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He put up 13 points and eight boards in the second half alone as he went nine-for-15 from the field in the contest. Freshman guard Clif Conley (Galax, Va.) came off the bench to score 16 points including a trio of three-pointers while junior guard Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.) added 15 points on four-for-five shooting.
Junior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) put up 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists while sophomore guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.) added 12 points to give Emory & Henry five scorers in double figures. Eleven different players reached the scoring column for the Wasps as 10 had double-digit minutes played as well.
As a team, E&H shot 43.6 percent (34-for-78) from the field including 12 three-pointers made. The Wasps went 17-for-25 (68%) from the free throw line and held a 52-33 advantage on rebounding. Their 22 offensive rebounds translated to a 26-14 lead on second-chance points. Emory & Henry made Johnson pay for their mistakes, scoring 31 points on 17 Royal turnovers.
JU's Kenny White led all players with 30 points, going 10-for-14 from the floor, and added five rebounds and three assists. Rickey Bowen notched 14 points while Jordan McClendon had 10 points and five boards. As a team, the Royals shot 28-of-61 (45.9%) from the field and were 16-of-27 (59.3%) from the charity stripe. Johnson held a 38-34 lead on points in the paint, but could not overcome a rebounding deficit of nearly 20.
Emory & Henry will have the next seven days off for exams, returning to the court on Thursday, December 17. The Wasps will travel to Montreat, North Carolina to face off against the Cavaliers of Montreat College. The contest is set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15