SALEM, Va. – The #1 Guilford College Men's Basketball Team (23-5) used an 8-0 run midway through the second half and held off a late run by third-seeded Emory & Henry College (20-8) to win the 2017 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship by a 64-54 score Sunday. With the victory, the Quakers earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – #1 Guilford 64, #3 Emory & Henry 54
LOCATION – Salem, Virginia – Salem Civic Center
RECORDS – #3 Emory & Henry (20-8, 12-4 ODAC); #1 Guilford (23-5, 13-3 ODAC)
How It Happened
- After Emory & Henry started off 5-0, GC scored 11 straight for an 11-5 advantage at the 15:02 mark of the first half. The Wasps used a 10-0 run later in the period to take a 25-24 lead on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Clif Conley (Galax, Va.).
- The squads traded buckets for the final two minutes of the opening 20 minutes to a 29-all tie at the break.
- The opening seven minutes of the second half kept the Wasps and Quakers deadlocked, 39-39.
- Guilford then went on an 8-0 run covering 3:41 to push the margin to 47-39 with 8:56 to go.
- Wasp senior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) put E&H on his back, scoring 10 of the team's next 12 points which cut the margin to six (57-51) with 93 seconds remaining.
- GC finished off the game by making five of its final eight free throws for the 64-54 win.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Senior guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) led the Wasps with 10 points and nine rebounds in his final game wearing the blue-and-gold.
- Junior guard John Shelor (Giles, Va.) contributed nine points and three boards with a trio of three pointers while Conley added three triples for nine points and added two assists.
- Sophomore forward Aaron Ferguson (Princeton, W.Va.) put up eight points and six rebounds off the bench as freshman guard Colin Molden (Apex, N.C.) tacked on four points, three rebounds and five assists.
Guilford Individual Leaders
- Jaylen Gore and Kyler Gregory each recorded 13 points and four rebounds while Carson Long hit three three-pointers for 11 points, four rebounds and four blocks.
- Alston Thompson tacked on seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks while Zachary Houston had five points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot just 33 percent (19-for-57) but kept itself in the game with eight three-pointers. The Wasps made 8-of-13 (61.5%) of their attempts from the line.
- Guilford hit on 20 of 52 (38.5%) of its field goal attempts and was efficient at the charity stripe, connecting on 80 percent (20-of-25) of its uncontested attempts.
- The Quakers held a 39-37 rebounding advantage and just a 14-10 margin on points in the paint. Both squads added 13 second-chance points.
Notable
- Emory & Henry makes it two wins in the ODAC Tournament for the second year in a row. The last time the Wasps had a back-to-back years with multiple tournament wins was a three-year span from 1990-93.
- The Wasps were making their first appearance in the ODAC Championship game since the 1994 season and the sixth in program history.
All-Tournament Team
- Carson Long, Guiford – Most Outstanding Player
- Chase Branscomb, Emory & Henry
- Aaron Ferguson, Emory & Henry
- Dominique Henderson, Guilford
- Jaylen Gore, Guilford
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