Men’s basketball: EMU tops Buffalo State, 90-85

The EMU Runnin Royals had much of the same success today as they had yesterday as they won against Buffalo State 90-85 to come away from the Don Glick Classic with two wins. The Royals improve to 6-5 overall on the season with the non-conference victory.

The game started out quickly as Tariq Caldwell (Richmond, Va./Lee-Davis) made a layup to start the scoring for the Royals seconds into the game. Both teams traded the first 17 points until Buffalo State started to build their lead.

The Bengals scored on their next eight possessions to increase their lead to as much as nine over EMU. Just as Buffalo State started to pull away, Jamel Howard (Leesburg, Va./Tuscarora) threw down a statement dunk that sparked the offense for the Royals to get them back in the game.

Travis Clower (Romney, W.V./Hampshire) drilled a three to push the Royals back within four as they went into halftime with the score 47-43.

EMU came out strong in the second half as Sammy Thomas (Owings, Md./Northern) and Clower scored on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 47.

The game was back-and-forth with neither team gaining more than a three point lead until it was tied at 72 with just over six minutes left to play. The Royals found some space and used a 13-4 run to increase their lead to nine with 2:28 remaining.

The Bengals got back within six points with a minute left until Tim Jones (Forestville, Md./Central) made a layup with 39 seconds left to seal the deal for EMU.

The Royals shot 54.1% (33-61) from the field and 30% (3-10) from three to pace the offense on the day over Buffalo State who shot 43.2% (32-74) and 34.8% (8-23) from three.

Thomas had a big game inside for the Royals leading in scoring with 24 points and eight rebounds. Clower finished the game with 19 points while dishing out four assists. Jones added 17 points and picked five steals on defense.

The Bengals were led by Sheldon Adams with 16 points. Kay Grant had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Runnin Royals have one more game in 2018 that’s on Wednesday, December 20, as they travel to Frostburg State for a 3:00pm tip-off.