Junior Maleke Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) tied an EMU record with eight three-pointers as the EMU Runnin Royals rolled to a 99-75 win over Gallaudet Saturday afternoon in Yoder Arena. Eastern Mennonite won both of their games at the EMU Tip-Off Invitational to improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Jones was named the most valuable player of the invitational, where he averaged 21.5 points and 3.0 steals. The guard drilled 8-of-13 attempts from long range against Gallaudet, tying DJ Hinson‘s program record for threes in game. Hinson hit eight against Guilford in an Elite Eight game in the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
Khalil Davis (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) joined Jones on the EMU Tip-Off Invitational All-Tournament Team. He set career highs with 21 points and four steals in Friday’s 84-75 win over Methodist, before notching a career best six assists and three more steals against Gallaudet.
Also on the all-tournament team were Joshua McGriff and Andy Cruz from Gallaudet, Davion Ayabarreno from Methodist, and Bridgewater’s Bryce Boggs.
Jones led the charge early against the Bison, scoring EMU’s first 14 points including four longballs. The Royals led by as many as 12 until Gallaudet rallied to within 39-37 with 3:19 left in the first half. But back-to-back threes from Jones and Travis Clower(Romney, W.V./Hampshire) fueled a 12-2 tear to end the half, as the men took a 51-39 margin into the break.
The 6-8, 250-pound McGriff powered GU’s comeback attempt in the second, but Eastern Mennonite kept the edge with more outside shooting. Jones hit his eighth trey to tie Hinson’s mark with 14:43 left, just before McGriff answered with a milestone of his own, throwing down a dunk on the next possession to give him 1,000 points for his career. He finished with 30 points on 14-19 shooting.
But the Royals were too much for Gallaudet, as the men never let the lead get back under single digits down the stretch, eventually pulling away for the comfortable final margin.
Led by Jones, EMU was 16-31 from outside for 51.6%, while the Bison were a barren 0-11. The men also had 11 steals in creating a +16 turnover margin at 27-11.
Jones finished with a team high 28 points, shooting 60% from the floor. This was the first time in his career that he scored more than 19 points. RaShawn Latimer (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run) was a perfect 3-for-3 from outside and tallied 13 counters and five rebounds. Isaiah Harris-Winn (Frederick, Md./St. Maria Goretti) put in 12 points while Sammy Thomas (Owings, Md./Northern) added 11. Clower chipped in eight points and four assists.
McGriff added 15 rebounds for a double double and blocked five shots. Cruz was good for 15 points and 12 boards.
The Runnin Royals now have an extended break over Thanksgiving, returning to the court Nov. 30 in their ODAC opener at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. They won’t play at home again until a Dec. 6 date with Randolph-Macon.
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