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.
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