Emory & Henry Men’s Basketball Handles Maryville, 98-91, In Home-Opener Saturday

Colin Molden put up 21 points and added seven assists in the Wasps' win over Maryville.
-photo courtesy of Taylor Jefferson

EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (2-0, 0-0 ODAC) shot 60.3 percent for the game as it earned a key NCAA Division III South Region win over Maryville (Tenn.) College, 98-91, Saturday at home. The Scots are picked to win the USA South Athletic Conference West Division this year.

The Basics
FINAL SCORE
– Emory & Henry 98, Maryville (Tenn.) 91
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Bob Johnson Court at the John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (2-0, 0-0 ODAC); Maryville (Tenn.) (0-2, 0-0 USA South)

How It Happened
- MC jumped out to an 8-4 lead at the 17:12 mark of the first half but a 16-0 run by E&H made the score 20-8 with 11:49 on the clock. The Scots clawed their way back into the contest, using a 17-4 run that covered 5:41 to regain the advantage, 27-26.
- The squads traded buckets for the next three minutes before Emory & Henry closed the half on a 7-0 run for a 41-34 lead at the intermission.
- Coming out of the break, the Wasps pushed the margin back to double digits, 47-37, and led by as much as 16 (74-58) with 8:02 left to play.
- Maryville fought to get the margin back within striking distance, cutting it to four with 30 seconds remaining, but Emory & Henry hit nine of its last 10 free throws, including three in the final 20 seconds to seal the 98-91 victory.

Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Branscomb tallied his second double-double in as many games with 23 points and 10 rebounds, going 8-for-13 from the field with a 6-for-10 performance at the line.
- Sophomore guard Colin Molden (Apex, N.C.) had 21 points, seven assists, three steals and two rebounds while sophomore guard Daniel Spencer (Concord, N.C.) added 14 points and five boards off the bench.
- Freshman guard Tharon Suggs (Raleigh, N.C.) had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists while junior forward Alic Wynn (Asheville, N.C.) contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
- Senior guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.) notched 11 points as well for the Wasps.

Maryville (Tenn.) Individual Leaders
- Dante Hoppa led all players with 28 points, going 10-for-13 from the line and hitting a quartet of three-pointers. He also had a team-best seven rebounds.
- Calvin Songster put up 22 points with four treys and three rebounds while Kaleb Estes had 11 points and four assists.
- Daquan Summers recorded 11 points, coming off the bench.

A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry hit 60.3 percent (35-of-58) of its field goal attempts including a blistering 19-for-29 (65.5%) in the second half. The Wasps also made good on 23-of-31 (74.2%) of their free throw attempts.
- Maryville went 30-for-62 (48.4%) from the floor with 13 three-pointers, and was 72 percent (18-of-25) from the stripe.
- E&H outscored MC 46-28 on points in the paint and held a 35-25 rebounding advantage. The Scots notched a 13-9 lead on second-chance points and edged the Wasps, 16-14, on points off turnovers.

Up Next
- Emory & Henry will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, November 25 for a contest against William Peace University.
- Tipoff between the Wasps and the Pacers will be at 3:00 p.m.

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