EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (15-11, 6-10 SAC) took down border rival King (Tenn.) University (6-21, 5-14 Carolinas) in non-conference action Monday evening. The Wasps overcame a halftime deficit to wrap up their home schedule with the 80-76 win.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 80, King (Tenn.) 76
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Bob Johnson Court at the John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (15-11, 6-10 SAC); King (Tenn.) (6-21, 5-14 Carolinas)
How It Happened
- The visitors from Bristol started the game with hot shooting, as they knocked down two shots from distance in the first four minutes to run out to the early 11-8 lead at the first media timeout. The Wasps responded out of the timeout with an 11-5 run of their own, capped off by a layup from sophomore guard Jalen Leftwich (Lynchburg, Va.) to make it 19-16. The Tornado continued to make buckets, as they increased their lead to as many as eight and took the 41-37 lead into the half.
- The two squads continued to trade buckets throughout the second period and the Tornado held a narrow 53-51 advantage with 14:49 on the clock. A made layup from sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Clintwood, Va.) at the 10:43 mark gave the Wasps their first lead since the first half at 65-64. The remainder of the game was played within a five point margin as E&H could not put away the pesky visiting Tornado and the margin stood at 76-74 at the final media break. The Wasp defense locked down in the final four minutes of play, only allowing King (Tenn.) to tally two points. Brown sealed the win with two clutch free throws down the stretch to take the victory by an 80-76 score.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Brown led the offensive effort with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while Leftwich added 19 points, six assists and four rebounds off the bench.
- Sophomore forward Jake Moynihan (Muncie, Ind.) contributed 12 points, five rebounds, one steal and a block. Senior guard Kevin Grau Rodriguez (Tampa, Fla.) had 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block in the win for the Wasps.
King (Tenn.) Individual Leaders
- Darron Howard had a joint team-high 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal while Eric Sanders added 14 points and five rebounds.
- Brandon Lamberth posted 12 points and three rebounds and Myles McCrary had eight points, seven rebounds and an assist in the loss.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot 46.8 percent (29-for-62) from the field while King (Tenn.) made 30-of-70 (42.9%) of their shots. The Wasps knocked down nine shots (31.0%) from the three-point arc, compared to 11 (42.3%) for the Tornado.
- King (Tenn.) outrebounded the Wasps by a 42-37 margin, but E&H held the 38-32 advantage on points in the paint.
- The Wasps assisted on 20 of their made baskets while the Tornado only recorded 11 helpers during the game.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry travels to Jefferson City, Tennessee on Wednesday to take on SAC Mountain Division opponent Carson-Newman University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the women's squad.
---E&H---