HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (9-6, 3-3 ODAC) built a 42-24 halftime lead and never looked back as it defeated Eastern Mennonite University (6-8, 1-5 ODAC) by a 77-57 score Saturday afternoon at Yoder Arena. The Wasps led for the entire game as they shot 40 percent (30-for-75) and held a 60-38 rebounding advantage over the Royals.
Emory & Henry jumped out to a 12-3 lead at the 14:49 mark of the first half thanks in part to seven points from junior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.). Up 29-19 later in the half, the Wasps put together a 13-2 run to push their advantage to 21 points, 42-21 with 1:05 to go before the break. An old-fashioned three-point play by the Royals in the final minute made the halftime score 42-24.
EMU cut the margin to 12 coming out of the locker room but E&H answered back, keeping control of the momentum. A 19-8 run late in the half gave the Wasps their largest lead of the game at 73-50 with 3:11 left to play. The Royals closed the gap to the 20-point, 77-57 final score, scoring seven of the final 11 points of the game.
Turner led all players with 19 points on seven-for-10 shooting and added five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.) had 13 points and eight rebounds while freshman forward Aaron Ferguson (Princeton, W.Va.) chipped in 12 points and seven boards. Sophomore forward Chase Branscomb (Bristol, Tenn.) added nine points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Wasps.
The strong rebounding performance for Emory & Henry translated into an 18-5 lead on second-chance points and 32 points in the paint. The Wasps hit seven threes in the game and converted 62.5 percent (10-for-16) of their free throws.
Eastern Mennonite's Rashawn Latimer was the only double-figure scorer as he scored 17 points and added five boards on six-for-14 shooting. Sammy Thomas pitched in nine points and eight rebounds while Xavier McCants had nine points and four boards off the bench. The Royals shot just 31.7 percent (19-for-60) from the floor and hit only three of 19 attempts (15.8%) from beyond the arc.
Emory & Henry will return home on Wednesday when it hosts No. 20 Roanoke College. Tipoff between the Wasps and nationally-ranked Maroons is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., at Bob Johnson Court.
---E&H---