Eastern Mennonite University had three players score in double figures as the Royals moved to 2-0 to start the 2008-09 campaign following a 76-55 win over Averett University during day two of the Loyal Royal Tip-Off Tournament.

Averett, which had defeated Bridgewater on Saturday, moves to 1-1 on the year.

"We picked up some hard wins and hopefully we can keep this momentum going as we move closer to conference play," explained Royal head coach Kirby Dean.

The Royals were led by All-Tournament Most Valuable Player George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) who led all scorers with 20 points. Johnson also pulled down five rebounds while collecting seven assists.

Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) followed up his double-double performance yesterday with 18 points and nine rebounds against the Cougars.

Junior guard Austin Twine (Dublin, Va./Pulaski Co.) had a team leading four steals for EMU which registered a total of 12 take-aways from Averett.

A see-saw first half featured five lead changes with the Cougars gaining a 10-point lead with 5:13 on the clock. EMU slowly chipped away at the margin with buckets from Phillips and Twine. A three-pointer from Phillips cut the lead down to two (28-26) with just under two minutes remaining. D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) put EMU on top with 1:27 remaining in the first half on a three-point play (layup, and one) to make the score 30-28 at the break.

Damien Brown had a team leading seven points for Averett in the first half. Brown averaged 11 points over the two-game span and was the All-Tournament Team representative for Averett.

In the second frame the Royals slowly began to create a gap between them and the Cougars. A lay-up by Devon McRae (Altavista, Va./Altavista) and a long ball by Orie Pancione (Augusta, WVa./Hampshire) put the Royals on top by six (46-40). The deficit for Averett grew to 14 as Johnson, Hinson, and McRae each contributed to a 8-0 EMU.

McRae ended the game with six points off the bench with Pancione tallying nine points and five boards.

EMU closed out the win by hitting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe along with a pair of three-pointers from Johnson and LeRoger Parrish (Danville, Va./Tunstall).

Parrish was the third member of the double figures club as he registered 10 points to go along with four rebounds.

Hinson had nine points for EMU.

The Royals will now head north on Interstate-81, as they travel to Winchester, Va., to take on Shenandoah University on Wednesday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m.

The full EMU All-Tournament Team is listed below:
Walter Brady - Greensboro College
Michael Oblitey - Bridgewater College
Damien Brown - Averett University
Todd Phillips - EMU
D.J. Hinson - EMU
George Johnson - EMU (MVP)