SALEM, Va. – The #4 Emory & Henry Men's Basketball Team (21-6) will play for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship for the second year in a row after defeating ninth-seeded Eastern Mennonite University (12-15) in the conference semifinals by a 78-76 score on Saturday evening.
The Wasps reach the championship game of the tournament for the sixth time in program history. E&H's other consecutive title appearances came as a three-season stretch between 1990 and 1992.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – #4 Emory & Henry 78, #9 Eastern Mennonite 76
LOCATION – Salem, Virginia
VENUE – Salem Civic Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (21-6, 11-5 ODAC); Eastern Mennonite (12-15, 5-11 ODAC)
How It Happened
- The Wasps jumped out to a 20-5 lead at the 14:45 mark of the first half thanks to a 16-3 run. A 14-2 scoring burst midway through the period pushed the margin to 34-12 with 9:19 on the clock.
- Eastern Mennonite put together a 12-1 run to answer and close the gap to 35-24. The squads would trade baskets for the final five minutes going into the break with E&H ahead, 48-37.
- Returning to action, EMU quickly closed the gap to seven (49-42) before Emory & Henry pushed its advantage out to 60-44 with 14:30 to play.
- The Royals began to chip away at the lead over the next 10 minutes, finally going ahead 76-75 to cap a 16-2 run late in the game. E&H went back up on the next possession and held on through the last half minute for the 78-76 final score.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Senior forward Chase Branscomb (Bristol, Tenn.) led the way with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
- Freshman guard Tharon Suggs (Raleigh, N.C.) put up 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals while junior forward Alic Wynn (Asheville, N.C.) added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the double-double.
- Sophomore guard Colin Molden (Apex, N.C.) scored 17 points off the bench, hitting five three-pointers, to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
Eastern Mennonite Individual Leaders
- Maleke Jones posted a game-high 24 points, with five triples, and notched six rebounds and four assists.
- Isaiah Harris-Winn registered 18 points and eight boards while RaShawn Lattimer contributed 17 points, four rebounds and five assists.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry went 28-for-59 (47.5%) from the floor, hitting eight three-pointers. The Wasps made 63.6 percent (14-for-22) of their free throw attempts.
- Eastern Mennonite shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the field connecting on 12 shots from long range. The Royals hit 12-of-18 (66.7%) of their shots from the stripe.
- EMU held a 40-36 rebounding advantage and carried that over to a 12-8 lead on second-chance points.
- The Wasps scored 31 points off 15 Royal turnovers and led 26-22 on points in the paint.
Up Next
- The next step in Emory & Henry's championship run will take place on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.,
- Fans can listen live on WEHC 90.7 FM in Southwest Virginia and across the globe at www.wehcfm.com.
- The game will also be streamed live on www.odaconline.com.
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