EMU downed by Mary Washington in road opener

The EMU basketball men didn’t do itself any favors in an 88-71 road loss to Mary Washington. The Royals struggled to stop their opponents from scoring while also being cold from both the free throw line and three-point range in falling to 0-1.

The talented Eagles, also playing in their first game of the year, were picked No. 3 in the Capital Athletic Conference preseason poll.

Eastern Mennonite will look for their first win this weekend, playing two games at their own EMU Tip-Off Invitational. The Runnin Royals get Methodist Friday night at 7:00pm before taking on Gallaudet Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm.

Rival Bridgewater College will play an earlier game each day in Yoder Arena, matched up against the two visiting teams in opposite order.

EMU’s men gave up control of the opening tip against Mary Washington, and the Eagles got a quick lay-up for the first lead. Two offensive fouls and a missed three pointer later, the Royals were in a quick 6-0 hole.

UMW slowly built the edge to as many as 10 points, trimmed back to eight at 31-23 after a Mark Loving (Woodford, Va./Caroline) layup with 8:33 left in the half. But EMU went cold from there.

Mary Washington proceeded to score nine straight points. After a bucket from Xavier McCants (Olney, Md./Sherwood), the home team scored another eight unanswered to cap a 17-2 streak in less than four minutes, blowing the margin to 48-25.

The Royals steadied up, but still trailed 55-34 at halftime. They committed 14 turnovers over the first 20 minutes and were out-shot 58% to 47%.

Eastern Mennonite came out of the intermission with some early momentum, getting within 62-49 after a pair of free throws from big man Sammy Thomas (Owings, Md./Northern) just 5:33 into the half. An 8-0 run from the Eagles bumped the lead back to 77-55 with 8:50 remaining and EMU couldn’t recover.

The Royals shot 44% from the floor in the game, but allowed UMW to shoot at a 49% clip, while also fielding a -8 turnover margin. The men did a good job of getting to the free throw line, but only made 14-of-29 and struggled from long range, finishing 5-for-21.

RaShawn Latimer (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run) had the best offensive night, connecting for 18 points. Jerome Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) was good for 13 points and six rebounds. McCants added 10 points and five boards in 14 minutes off the bench. Thomas had a game high 10 rebounds, helping EMU to a 43-40 edge on the glass.

Eric Shaw led Mary Washington with 21 points, nine boards and three blocks. John Lutkenhaus added 19 points and nine rebounds.