SALEM, Va. – The Roanoke College Men's Basketball Team (13-7, 6-5 ODAC) overcame an eight-point halftime deficit as it grinded out a 76-68 win over visiting No. 19 Emory & Henry College (18-2, 10-1 ODAC) Wednesday an Old Dominion Athletic Conference rivalry game. The Wasps see their record-tying 10-0 conference start snapped at the hands of the Maroons.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Roanoke 76, No. 19 Emory & Henry 68
LOCATION – Salem, Virginia
VENUE – Charles Moir Court at the Cregger Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (18-2, 10-1 ODAC); Roanoke (13-7, 6-5 ODAC)
How It Happened
- The contest featured seven ties and seven lead changes and went back and forth early. With the score tied, 13-13, the Wasps went on a 10-3 run covering 2:41 for a 23-16 lead.
- Up by five with 9:26 to go before the break, Emory & Henry pushed its advantage to 14 (34-20) thanks to an 11-2 run. The Wasps would hold a 40-32 lead going into the intermission.
- Returning to action, Roanoke trimmed the deficit down to one, 42-41, with 16:54 to play but E&H responded to go back up by six. Roanoke took its first lead in nearly 20 minutes of play, 52-51, at the 12:41 mark of the second and went ahead for good, 59-56, on a three-pointer by Caleb Jordan.
- RC extended the lead to as much as eight (69-61) before Emory & Henry closed the gap down to four, 72-68, on a pair of free throws by senior forward Chase Branscomb (Bristol, Tenn.) with 27 seconds to go.
- The Maroons made all four of their free throws in the final 30 seconds as they held off the Wasps, 76-68.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Branscomb led all players with 26 points and made it a double-double with 12 rebounds. He went 8-for-15 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line as he notched the 26th 20-point game by an E&H player this year.
- Senior guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.) put up 11 points, six rebounds and three assists while sophomore guard Daniel Spencer (Concord, N.C.) had 11 points, five boards, four assists and two steals.
- Junior guard Jarris Hendricks (Mechanicsville, Va.) scored eight points and four rebounds off the bench while junior forward Alic Wynn (Asheville, N.C.) and freshman guard Tharon Suggs (Raleigh, N.C.) had six points each.
Roanoke Individual Leaders
- Josh Freund went for 25 points and a game-high 16 rebounds to lead Roanoke.
- Jordan registered 15 points and five rebounds while C.J. Miles tacked on 15 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry made just 36.5 percent (23-of-63) of its field goal attempts, with six three-pointers. The Wasps shot 16-for-21 (76.2%) from the free throw line.
- Roanoke went 28-for-61 (45.9%) on the night with six threes of its own. The Maroons made 73.7 percent (14-of-19) of their attempts from the stripe.
- E&H held a 42-34 rebounding advantage and led, 14-6, on second-chance points.
- RC ruled the paint, 34-10, and scored 13 points off nine Emory & Henry turnovers.
Up Next
- No. 19 Emory & Henry is set to visit Lynchburg College on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
- The Wasps defeated the Hornets, 102-81, on Thursday, January 18 in Emory.
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