The Runnin Royals entered Saturday night's clash with Randolph College shooting just 30% from three point range.  The men started the game on fire, however, drilling 7-of-8 from long range and never trailed, rolling to a key 76-69 win.

EMU's basketball men are now 13-10 overall and 8-6 in the ODAC.  They hold sole possession of fifth in the league standings heading into the final week of the regular season.  Both Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater sit a game behind at 7-7, while Randolph is 1.5 games back at 6-7.  The Royals play at rival Bridgewater on Wednesday.

Against Randolph, RJ Sims (Fort Washington, Md./Friendly)opened the night with a three ball, and James Williams (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) followed suit with one of his own for a quick 6-0 lead.  After a WildCat bucket, Kwa McDonald (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) added a longball as the men skipped ahead 9-2 just two minutes into the game.  Williams hit his second, and Sims added another, pushing EMU up 18-7.

The men led by as many as 14 points in the opening frame, and were up 42-30 at halftime.  EMU shot 64% in the first half, including 8-13 from outside.

As could be expected, the solid WildCats came back in the second.  The visitors scored the first five points, and a Mike Ehilegbu three pointer sliced the lead to 44-41 at the 15:11 mark.  But the Royals answered with four quick points and methodically pushed the lead back up to double figures.

Randolph hung around, but the men hit enough free throws down the stretch to push to the 76-69 win.

Despite cooling off a bit in the second half, EMU still shot 54.5% for the game, compared to 49.0% for the WildCats.  The Royals finished 11-22 from three point range, and made a decisive difference by connecting on 17-of-24 free throws.  Randolph was 9-15 from the stripe.

David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) finished with a team high 19 points and seven rebounds for EMU.  He also blocked two shots.  Sims charted 14 points and five assists, while Williams also had 14.  The two combined for seven triples.  Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) had 10 points and three steals.

Randolph's Ehilegbu led all scorers with 27 points.  Corey Brown added 14.

The Royals head to rival Bridgewater Wednesday night.  BC had their own impressive win on Saturday, winning 71-62 at Guilford.

Check out this massive slam from David Falk:

And one more one-handed stuff for good measure.  And the foul!

How about a block?

Coach Kirby Dean after the game: