Generally when two rivals get together you can throw the records out the window and know that it will be a good game. Wednesday night in Harrisonburg, Eastern Mennonite's men decided to make a statement, even though they entered with a 12-3 record compared to BC's 6-9 mark. The Runnin Royals scored the first 10 points of the game and romped to a 32-5 lead, en route to an 85-65 victory over their rivals.

Defense and unselfish play keyed the hot start. EMU held the Eagles to just one made field goal on their first 16 attempts. The men had their 27-point lead before Bridgewater made its second field goal at the 8:46 mark.

The visitors settled down after that and trimmed a few points off the lead heading into halftime, 45-26.

The Royals lost some of their intensity in the second half, allowing Bridgwater to get within 13 points at 67-54 with 9:50 to play. But over the next 1:15, EMU went 8-for-8 from the free throw line to push the edge back up to 75-54.

Free throws were the name of the game the rest of the way as the men coasted to the 20-point win.

The Eagles were whistled for 38 fouls in the contest, and Eastern Mennonite broke their record for team free throw attempts in a game with 52. The previous mark was 49, set against Emory & Henry on Jan. 26, 2008. The men also came within one made toss of tying that record, which is 37 from the same contest against the Wasps.

EMU finished 36-52 from the stripe for a 69% clip.

Coach Kirby Dean said the opening 12 minutes defined the game, although he wished his team would have kept up the intensity.

"That opening 12 minutes was the best defense we have played all year," Dean said. "But we lost our intensity and we needed to find it back."

Although Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) and George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) had the flashiest numbers, many players had solid games.

Phillips finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, as well as game highs of seven assists and three blocked shots. Johnson hit four triples and led all scorers with 19.

D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) added five assists, which were all in the opening minutes, and two blocks. Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) had nine points and six rebounds while Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) had nine and five.

Owen Longacre (Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock) had eight points and four boards in just 12 minutes.

Justin Brake was the only Eagle in double figures with 10. Rick Maloney had a game high 10 rebounds.

Eastern Mennonite had a 50-46 edge in rebounding as neither team shot particularly well. BC was 22-73 for 30% while the Royals were 22-58 for 38%. The visitors were 16-23 from the free throw line, taking less than half of EMU's record-setting 52.

Dean said his team has yet to maintain their top energy for a full game.

"When we are focused in, we can beat anybody in the country," he said. "If we are able to find a way to sustain that energy the entire length of a game and do it back-to-back-to-back, we are going to be a tough out."

The Runnin Royals bump their record to 13-3 with the win and stay above .500 in the conference at 4-3. The men have a key match at surprising Randolph this Saturday. The WildCats are 11-4 overall and 5-2 in the ODAC, holding onto third place.