DANVILLE, Va. – The William Peace University Men's Basketball Team (3-1) used a strong second half to defeat Emory & Henry College (0-4) by an 84-69 score Saturday afternoon in the Averett Cougar Classic at the Grant Center.
The opening 20 minutes of the game was a back-and-forth affair featuring seven ties and four lead changes. With the score tied at 21, Emory & Henry went on a 12-4 run for its largest lead of the contest, 33-25, 4:36 before the break. The Pacers surged late to knot the score at 36 but a three-pointer by Wasp junior guard Kevin Anzenberger (Concord, N.C.) made the halftime score 39-36 in favor of E&H.
The two teams jockeyed for the advantage early in the second half but a 19-7 run put the Pacers up 73-59 with 5:30 left to go in the game. E&H closed the gap to 11 points on two separate occasions late but would get no closer as WPU came away with an 84-69 win.
William Peace placed four players in double figures in scoring, led by Chris Thomas, who scored 19 points and added seven rebounds, as he connected on three shots from long range. Nate Strother had 17 points and three treys while Shawn Shaffer notched a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Jalen Vince scored 13 points on five-for-six shooting as well for the Pacers.
As a team WPU shot 42.6 percent (29-for-68) for the game and hit a total of ten three-pointers. The Pacers held a 44-33 rebounding advantage which they converted into 20 second-chance points.
Emory & Henry was led by sophomore forward Brandon Self (Norfolk, Va.), who scored a team-high 18 points, converting eight-of-10 free throws, and added five rebounds. Sophomore guard Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.) had 14 points, hitting three three-pointers while Anzenberger added 13 points, and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) chipped in nine points, six boards, five assists and two steals.
The Wasps went 24-for-57 from the field, connecting on eight shot from beyond the arc. E&H hit 13-of-16 (81.3%) of its attempts from the charity stripe and scored 24 points inside the paint.
Emory & Henry will remain on the road Tuesday when it travels to Mount Berry, Georgia for an 8:00 p.m., matchup with the Berry College Vikings.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15