HARRISONBURG, Va. – The EMU men's basketball team had a tall order ahead of it Wednesday night, as they welcomed in the reigning national champions, Randolph-Macon.

The Royals played a great first half, leading at times and trailing the Yellow Jackets by just four at the half. But RMC used a big second half to pull away for a 75-48 win.

Records: EMU 3-6, 0-4 ODAC | Randolph-Macon 7-1, 4-0 ODAC

Highlights

First Half

Randolph-Macon jumped out to a 6-0 lead before back-to-back buckets by DaiJordan Brown cut the lead to two. RMC pushed the lead to six but six straight points from Aviwe Mahlong tied things at 12 and another Mahlong three tied things at 15. EMU took a 17-15 lead on a Brown layup but the Yellow Jackets answered with four straight, taking a 19-17 lead. Brown nailed a three, putting EMU on top 20-19 but RMC fought back to retake the lead late in the half. Trailing by six, Michael Watlington made a layup in the final seconds to send the teams to halftime with RMC ahead 38-34.

Second Half

A 12-1 for RMC broke the game open to start the second half, with a Mahlong layup stopping the Yellow Jacket Run. Randolph-Macon was able to extend their lead to as many as 27 in the second half, shooting 46% from the field. After a hot shooting first half, EMU was outscored 37-14 in the second half, with Mahlong pacing the Royals offense with eight second-half points.  

Statistical Leaders

Mahlong – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals

Brown – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals

What's Next

The Royals will be back at Yoder Arena on Saturday as they take on the 2021-22 CSAC Champions, the Phoenix of Wilson College. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm.

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