SALEM, VA--Bryan Fasnacht (Salem, VA/Glenvar) scored 14 second half points to lead the Roanoke College men's basketball team to a 72-58 road victory over Emory & Henry College on Wednesday evening in Emory, VA. The Maroons improve to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and with the win give Roanoke head coach Page Moir his 260th career victory, tying him for first place with Ed Green on the school's all-time wins list. The Maroons have now won nine of the past 10 meetings with the Wasps dating back to the 1998-99 season and now own a 59-35 lead in the all-time series.
The Maroons quickly dug themselves a hole early in the contest, falling behind 7-0 in the first three minutes.
Jason Graffam (Vienna, VA/Marshall) got the Maroons on the board with his third three-pointer of the season. Trailing 18-16 late in the first half, the Maroons went on a 12-4 run to take a 28-22 lead. The Maroons took the lead for the first time at 19-18 on a
Jared Butler (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) free throw. Graffam scored five consecutive points during the run to give RC a 26-20 lead. With 35 ticks left in the first half,
Drew Crowder (Radford, VA/Radford) hit a three-pointer to give the Maroons a 35-32 lead, but the Wasps scored the final three points, including two at the buzzer, to send the game into half tied at 35.
Graffam opened the second half with his third three-pointer of the game. Over the next 13 minutes the Maroons were able to hold onto a slim lead, never getting the advantage to more than four points. Emory & Henry actually tied the game at 48, but
NyJuan Hall (Alexandria, VA/Edison) hit a lay-up to give the Maroons a 50-48 lead, a lead they would not give up. Moir's team slowly built its lead to seven points, 60-53, but with 4:05 to play the Wasps made hit a shot to cut the lead to five. Just seconds later, Butler hit the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer from the corner to give RC an eight-point lead. The Maroons were able to make their free throws ad get a couple of three-point plays down the stretch to hold onto the lead.
Graffam finished the game with a season-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. He also finished with five rebounds in the contest. Fasnacht scored 16 in the contest, one shy of a career-high and also had four assists.
Joe Milton (Shawsville, VA/Shawsville) gave the Maroons a spark off the bench in the first half, scoring nine points, three of which came on his first three-pointer of the season.
John Rutledge (Abingdon, VA/Abingdon) made his first start of the season and played a big part in holding ODAC scoring leader Justin call to just 11 points. Call entered the game averaging 28 points a game and was coming off of a 50-point effort on Sunday.
The Maroons look to give Moir his record-breaking 261st victory when they return to action on Saturday at Averett University in Danville, VA. The Maroons and Cougars will tip-off at 2:00pm in the non-conference game. The contest will be the final for the Maroons in the 2003 calendar year.
Roanoke vs. Emory & Henry Box Score
