Box Score While the young Runnin Royals may not always make the perfect play, Coach Kirby Dean hopes his men make plays at the right time. They did that Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg, closing the game on a 13-7 surge to top Emory & Henry 81-78 in their ODAC opener.
The Eastern Mennonite men started the game on fire, getting three triples in the opening 3:42 and jumping to an 11-0 lead. They led by as many as 12 points, but the Wasps, themselves a young and hot-shooting team, scored the final five of the half to trim the edge to 34-30 at halftime.
EHC got within two before David Falk (Madison, VA/Madison) hammered a two-handed dunk to cap a quick run to rebuild the cushion to 45-38.
The Wasps continued to hang around and trimmed the lead to one before the Runnin Royals struck another 18-7 streak to go back up by 12 at 63-51 with 9:38 remaining.
That lead quickly evaporated as Emory & Henry ignited a 20-5 run to go up 71-68, taking their first lead of the afternoon on back-to-back layups from Malcolm Green.
With just 4:20 left to play, EMU responded with a bucket from Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) and a three pointer from Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, VA/Northside) to go back on top, 73-71. R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) got a fastbreak layup with a great assist from Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) and the men were suddenly back in front by four in the span of only 1:25.
Emory & Henry got within one point at 77-76, but Burroughs and Sims kept the men in front. Burroughs sliced into the lane for two with 1:29 to go, and Sims made two crucial free throws with :04.5 seconds left to provide the final tally, 81-78.
The Eastern Mennonite defense stifled the Wasps in the closing seconds, keeping their visitors from even attempting a shot before the final buzzer.
Dean knew that he got what he really wanted out of his young team against the team picked to finish 11th in the ODAC's preseason poll.
"How we play may not always be as aesthetically pleasing as last year," he said, "but a win is a win. Emory & Henry has some good players and I have a hard time imagining they will finish last in the ODAC."
Despite shooting only 5-16 in two-point attempts over the first 20 minutes, EMU righted the ship from outside. The men entered the game a chilly 19-76 from long range, but hit 7-12 three pointers in the first half. They finished 8-17 for 47%. As a whole, the men shot 52%, while the Wasps connected on 58% of their shots.
The Runnin Royals won the game at the free throw line, hitting 19-of-29 for 66%. EHC was just 10-17.
EMU's coach was happy his men played well in crunch time.
"For as many bad plays as we made during the game, when it came down to those final four minutes the guys played pretty well."
Sims played a big part in the win, hitting 8-of-9 free throws and leading the team with 17 counters. Thorne came in with 16 points and seven rebounds. Longacre notched a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and tied for the team high with three assists.
Burroughs canned a pair of threes and finished with 10 points. Jeremy Heizer (Staunton, VA/Riverheads) had a career best nine points off the bench, as he drained all three of his triple attempts. Heizer hadn't even shot a three pointer entering the game.
The men also drew five charges in the win.
Green led Emory & Henry with 27 points and six rebounds.
Now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the ODAC, the Runnin Royals get a stiff test with a road game at Hampden-Sydney on Wednesday. The Tigers were picked to finish second in the ODAC poll and came in No. 23 in the D3hoops.com national preseason poll.
The win also put the men back up to .500. After their loss to DeSales, they had entered the game under .500 for the first time since the final contest of the 2007-08 season, a string of 85 games.
