BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Royals played in familiar territory on Saturday, visiting the gym of rival Bridgewater College for the first day of the Carlyle Whitelow Classic.

In EMU's opener, the Royals dropped a tightly contested game, falling late to Methodist University, 75-71. 

Records: EMU 0-4, 0-0 ODAC | Methodist 2-2, 0-0 USA South

Highlights

First Half
The Royals got out to a 6-0 lead after a pair of Isaiah Carr free throws and layups from Aaron Brooks and BJ Nkrumah. After a Methodist three got them on the board, Carr answered with a three of his own for a 9-3 EMU advantage. Later in the half, after the Monarchs had pulled within one, back-to-back threes from Hezekiah Brown and Carr pushed EMU's lead back to seven, 15-8. Donovan Arnason went on his own run, scoring six of the next eight points over an almost four-minute span, extending the Royals lead to nine. At the end of the half, the Methodist offense got hot, outscoring EMU 10-2 and taking a 27-26 lead at the 2:40 mark. A Nkrumah jumper and another Arnason free throw put EMU back on top by two, but the Monarchs tied things up with a late layup for a 29-29 tie at the break.

Second Half
It was a game of runs to start the second half, as Methodist started out on an 11-4 tilt, taking a 40-33 lead through the first four minutes of the frame. Over the next five minutes, EMU outscored the Monarchs 18-12, with Brooks scoring six and Nkrumah and Edixon Gomez each picking up three, to pull within one. After a pair of free throws pushed the Monarchs lead back to three, Brown drilled a three to tie things at 56 with 8:33 left. Unfortunately for EMU, Methodist answered with an 8-0 run, before back-to-back layups from EMU cut the Royals deficit to four. A pair of Brooks free throws late in the half, would get EMU within two, 64-62, but over the next minute, MU went 9-10 from the charity stripe to secure the win.

Statistical Leaders
Points: Brooks (17), Arnason (15 – career high), Carr (14)
Rebounds: Arnason (6), Brown (5)
Assists: Brooks (7)

What's Next
EMU will be right back on the floor on Sunday for the final day of the Whitelow Classic. They'll take on Carlow University, with tipoff starting at 3:00 pm.

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