Box Score The Eastern Mennonite University men's basketball team put consistent pressure on #15 Guilford College throughout the second half but was unable to get the final stop needed to overtake the Quakers with the home team gaining a 100-93 conference win over EMU Sunday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.

Ben Strong, who the Royals will be glad to see graduate following this season, led the Quakers with 39 points, seven rebounds, and was 16-of-21 from the field. Clay Henson and Tyler Sanborn chipped in another 13 points each for Guilford which improves to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and is currently ranked 15th in the latest D3Hoops.com poll.

EMU (8-14, 4-12 ODAC) got strong production from a pair of starting forwards in senior Brad Parkes (Winchester, Va./James Wood) and freshman D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville). Parkes finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists with Hinson leading the squad with 24 points including a 5-for-7 line from behind the arc.

The visiting Royals shot 57 percent (15-of-26) from the floor in the first half as neither team was able to gain more than a five point advantage through the first 15 minutes of the contest. There was 14 lead changes in that time frame with Guilford pulling away in the final minutes of the first half with Strong and Eric Belkoski helping to give the home team a 10 point lead (51-41) heading into the break.

Parkes scored 13 points in the first stanza with Strong tallying 17 points.

Guilford looked to be pulling away in the second half with the Quakers building a 17 point cushion with 10:36 on the clock. The Royals used their new moniker this season and unleashed the "runnin' royals" mentality that quickly benefited the visiting team on the scoreboard. Following a basket from freshman forward Orie Pancione (Augusta, WVa./Hampshire) and two treys from Hinson quickly cut the deficit almost in half (77-68) with only two minutes off the game clock.

Baskets from Strong kept the Quakers ahead while Hinson again cut into the Guilford lead with another three pointer as the home team saw their advantage go from 10 points to seven as he hit from just outside the arc. Following a 4-0 run by Guilford, it was senior guard Jered Lyons (Takoma Park, Md./St. Johns at Prospect Hall) getting into the act with a trey of his own, making the score 88-80 with 5:01 remaining. EMU battled through the remainder of the half with the visiting Royals getting to only four points of tying the Quakers with 2:20 on the clock thanks to a layup and one from Hinson. Guilford did not allow EMU to get any closer as Strong, Henson, and Rhett Bonner each contributed to the final offensive push for the Quakers to seal the win for the home team.

George Neville had six points and a couple of boards off the bench for Guilford with Belkoski adding 12 points and seven assists.

Lyons scored 11 points in 21 minutes of action with freshman guard George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) adding nine points and six assists in the loss.

EMU tallied 11 steals in the contest with senior center Corey Bailey (Centreville, Va./Brentsville District) registering nine points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Guilford shot 63 percent (17-of-27) from the floor in the second half compared to only 47 percent (17-of-36) for EMU.

EMU will close out the 2007-08 regular season at home as the Royals host #27 Randolph-Macon College on Wednesday, February 20, at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday duel with Roanoke College, also at 7 p.m.