SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team survived a home scare from the Wasps of Emory & Henry College on Wednesday evening, coming away with a 78-70 victory. The Maroons, who have won five straight over E&H, improve to 17-5 on the season and 12-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Wasps, who are fighting for the final spot in the ODAC tournament, fall to 6-16 on the year and 3-13 against league opponents.
Roanoke's Brad Dunleavy (Roanoke, VA/William Fleming) and Robby Pridgen (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) led all scorers in the game with 16 each. Pridgen also added four assists for the second consecutive game, while Dunleavy handed out three helpers and grabbed five rebounds. Colby Leftwich (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) added 10 points and six boards for the Maroons, who turned the ball over just 12 times in the contest.
Emory & Henry's Scott Laird (Greenwell Springs, LA/Redemptorist) paced all Wasp players with 15. Laird drained three three-pointers in the game, two of them coming in the second half. Scott Smith (Bristol, TN/Tennessee) chipped in 13 to the E&H effort, while Paul Russo (Cary, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) added 10.
The Maroons jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead in the game, but saw the Wasps embark on a 7-0 run to grab a 10-7 lead with 12:37 to go in the first half. The Maroons countered with a 14-2 run to take a nine point lead. RC extended its lead to as many as 12 in the first half, before taking a 38-33 advantage into the half.
The Wasps came out determined in the second half scoring nine of the first 13 points to tie the score at 42 with 17:33 remaining. Emory & Henry would take its first lead since early in the first just 30 seconds later on a three-pointer by Jay Rosser (Altavista, VA/Altavista). The score changed hands two more times over the next two minutes, before Roanoke's Jason Strickland (Charlottesville, VA/Covenant) hit a jumper to put the Maroons up to stay. That came with 14:53 left on the game clock. The Wasps didn't go away, however, never falling behind by more than nine points the rest of the way.
Despite shooting just 38.6 percent from the field, the Wasps kept the game close by controlling the glass. Emory & Henry dominated the Roanoke on the boards, outrebounding the Maroons, 45-31. Of those 45 rebounds, 15 came off the offensive glass which resulted in several second chance opportunities.
The Maroons head to Greensboro, NC on Saturday for a 4:00pm tip-off with the Quakers of Guilford College. The Maroons won the first meeting with the Quakers, 70-53, in Salem.
