Staff Report
EMU sports: www.emu.edu
After a defensive shutdown in Wednesday’s win over Washington & Lee, Eastern Mennonite’s men returned home Saturday looking to show off their offense. Roanoke College was the victim, as the Runnin’ Royals broke a school record with 69 points in the first half on their way to a 119-91 victory.
The Maroons took an early 7-2 lead before EMU’s offense got going. With the visitors leading 20-19 with 13:59 left in the half, the Royals erupted. They quickly turned the tables into a 33-23 edge after a D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) three-pointer.
Hinson nailed another trey at the 8:28 mark to put EMU’s lead at 46-26. The junior nailed his sixth three-pointer of the half with 50 seconds to go making it 69-45, as EMU led 69-48 at the break.
The Runnin’ Royals had 17 assists on their 23 first-half field goals, while committing only three turnovers. Hinson had 20 at halftime and was one of three men already in double figures. The 69 points also set a school record for most points in a half.
The Maroons started the second with a three-pointer, but EMU was not detered as the men had the lead at 30 after an Austin Twine (Dublin, Va./Pulaski County) free throw made the score 88-58 with 13:29 left.
Six men scored in double figures for EMU, led by Hinson’s 22. Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) put in 21 and added six steals. Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) missed just one shot attempt and finished with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Point guard George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) had 14 counters and a game high seven assists. Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) was 8-8 from the free throw line and finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Melvin Felix led four Maroons in double figures with 22 points.
After a successful week defending their first-ever national ranking, No. 24 Eastern Mennonite moves to 11-1 overall and 5-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The next game projects to be one of the biggest games in Yoder Arena, as the Runnin’ Royals host ODAC rival Randolph-Macon. The Yellow Jackets are 13-0 and 4-0, and are ranked No. 1 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll. Gametime is 7 p.m.
The ODAC is planning on webcasting Wednesday’s clash. Watch the ODAC website or the EMU athletics website for more information.
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Chris Graham
