Just like football can be a game of inches, basketball can be a game of one or two missed shots.  The Eastern Mennonite men wasted a career game from Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) by shooting just 55% from the free throw line in a 79-73 loss at Guilford.

Daniel nailed all five of his shots in the opening 4:17, including four triples, as the Royals jumped to a 19-9 lead.

The men held the lead until the Quakers closed the first half on a 24-8 tear to grab a 46-38 advantage at the break.

Guilford led as many as 17 in the second at 66-49 until EMU started a comeback.  The Royals patiently scored seven in a row to trim the lead to 10.  After a Quaker free throw, Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, VA/Northside) hit a trey to cut the lead to eight.

But the home team regrouped, and star Josh Pittman (Archdale, N.C./Trinity) hit four free throws in the final 14 seconds to help seal the 79-73 decision.

The teams were basically even in shooting, except for free throws, where EMU was 16-29 and Guilford was 23-38.  The Quakers also had a sizeable 49-37 rebounding edge.

Daniel was a deadly 6-for-10 from outside and led all players with a career high 27 points.  He also had a team best five assists and three steals.  Aside from a game he missed with a sickness, Daniel has scored in double figures six straight games and eight of his last nine.

Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) had his fourth double double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) finished with 12 and Burroughs came in with eight, but the Royals got just 10 points from their other eight players to see the floor.

Gabriel Lowder (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth) led the Quakers with 21.  Pittman finished with 17 and six assists.

The loss is the fifth straight ODAC loss for the Royals, who slide to 6-9 overall and 1-5 in the league.  Eastern Mennonite heads to rival Bridgewater Wednesday night.  The Eagles are having their own struggles, having dropped their last nine games.