ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (3-6) snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday morning with a 74-67 win over Skidmore College (3-6) in the final day of the St. Pete Classic. The Wasps built a 23-point second half lead and held off a late rally by the Thoroughbreds to clinch the victory.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 74, Skidmore 67
LOCATION – St. Petersburg, Florida
VENUE – McArthur Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (3-6, 0-2 ODAC); Skidmore (3-6, 2-1 Liberty)
How It Happened
- Emory & Henry opened up a 14-5 lead at the 16:02 mark of the first half thanks to hot three-point shooting all around. Skidmore put together an 11-4 scoring spurt to close the gap to 18-16, but E&H scored 14 of the next 22 to extend its lead to eight (32-24) with 7:24 on the clock.
- The Wasps finished the half on an 11-5 run to lead the Thoroughbreds, 45-32, at the intermission.
- In the second half, Emory & Henry scored the first eight points coming out of the break to go up 53-32 and ran its advantage to 23 on a layup-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Grant (Orlando, Fla.) with 12:43 to play, 58-35.
- A 13-2 run by the Thoroughbreds closed the gap to 60-48 with 6:48 remaining, but the Wasps responded with the next seven to extend the margin back to 19 (67-48).
- Skidmore put up a hard charge in the final three minutes, getting within four with 17 seconds remaining, but E&H held strong to win, 74-67.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Freshman guard Kevin Grau Rodriguez (Tampa, Fla.) put up a game-high 19 points, going 7-for-16 from the field, and adding five rebounds, four steals and three assists while freshman guard Malcolm Morgan (Concord, N.C.) finished with 17 points, four steals, two boards and two assists.
- Freshman forward Dylan Catron (Chilhowie, Va.) posted 16 points with four makes from long range while Grant went for 14 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Skidmore Individual Leaders
- Tautvydas Kupstas nailed five shots from beyond the arc on his way to 19 points with three rebounds and two assists.
- Riley Greene recorded 14 points, four assists and three rebounds while Pat Gallagher notched 13 points and eight rebounds.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry made 22-of-51 (43.1%) of it shots and connected on 42.9 percent (12-of-28) of its three-point attempts. The Wasps went 18-for-25 (72.0%) at the charity stripe.
- Skidmore shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) for the game with 13 makes from deep. The Thoroughbreds were just 4-of-8 (50%) at the free throw line.
- On the glass, Skidmore dominated by a 41-23 margin and used 13 offensive rebounds to lead, 16-3, on second-chance points.
- The Wasps made the most of 23 Thoroughbred turnovers, scoring 26 of their 74 points off of opponent miscues.
Next Up
- Emory & Henry will return to action next Saturday when it faces off against Wesley College in Christopher Newport University's Captains Shootout. Tipoff between the Wasps and Wolverines is set for 2:00 p.m.
---E&H---