SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team brought to an end its two-game losing streak with an 80-75 victory over visiting Eastern Mennonite University on Wednesday night in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who also bring to an end a two-game losing streak to the Royals, are now 10-8 on the season and improve to 4-7 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Royals, who were without two of their starters, fall to 10-7 overall on the year and 6-5 in league play.
A 13-point Roanoke halftime lead quickly expanded to 17 points early in the second half when junior
Jared Butler (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) hit two three-pointers in the first 1:30. Over the next six minutes the Maroon lead remained in double-figures, that until the second of two straight Korey Whiting free throws made the score 51-42 in Roanoke's advantage. Whiting's free throws, with 12:31 to play, capped a 9-2 EMU run in which Roanoke missed four of its five shots and committed two turnovers. Corey Bailey had back-to-back baskets in the paint, the first two coming on a dunk, to cut the RC lead to 11 with 13:19 left.
Following the EMU foul shots, Roanoke's
Tee Jackson (Galax, VA/Carroll Co.) hit one of his two three-pointers to push the Maroons' lead back to 12. That three-pointer sparked a 10-3 Roanoke run that got the edge back out to 16 points. Jackson scored eight consecutive points in the run. He hit the three, followed with a second chance layup, and then drained his second three-pointer in the span of just over a minute.
Josh LaPorte (Staunton, VA/Riverheads) capped the run with a slashing dunk.
Trailing by 14 points with six minutes to play, the Royals went on a 7-0 run to get within seven points, 66-59, that with 4:30 to play. Jason Sager scored the final three points of that run on one of his two threes in the game.
Jared Butler's third three of the half got the Maroons' lead back to 10 points, 69-59. The Maroon lead hovered around 10 points over the next two minutes. Leading by 11 points with 1:26 to go, the Maroons got outscored 7-1 over the next minute, allowing EMU to cut the lead to five. Corey Bailey hit a layup, Dustin Gaylon nailed a three, and Brad Parkes made two free throws to make the score 78-73. That was as close as the Royals would get. Robbie Winfield (Athens, TN/McMinn Co.) made two free throws to push the lead back to seven, but Sager answered with a short jumper with 20 seconds left to make the final 80-75.
The Maroons built a comfortable cushion in the early stages of the game, scoring 14 of the first 17 points. Winfield opened the game with a three-pointer, minutes later
Kevinn Hunter (Dale City, VA/Gar-Field) made three consecutive layups, and
Ben Lawler (Abingdon, VA/Abingdon) converted a three-point play to give RC the 14-3 lead. Back-to-back three from Sager and Whiting, along with a Whiting layup cut Roanoke's lead to 14-11. The Royals then got to within just one point, 16-15, on a Ryan King hook shot. The Maroons answered with a 9-0 run, getting another three from Winfield in the run, to take a 10-point lead. The Maroons held as much as a 15-point edge late in the first half.
The Maroons got the victory despite going 11-for-29 from the free throw line, shooting just 37.9 percent. Roanoke missed 14 of its 21 attempts in the second half, an ended the game with four consecutive misses. Overall, Roanoke misfired on seven of its final 10 free throw attempts. Butler led the Maroons with a season-high 19 points in the game, making four three-pointers. He also added five assists, three steals, and one block. Jackson finished with 12 points, while Hunter tallied 10.
The Royals got 22 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs from Sager. Eastern Mennonite, which was without both Jason Lentz and JoMorrae Gordon, both starters, outscored the Maroons 23-11 at the free throw line. Whiting came off the bench to score 19 points, while Brad Parkes tallied 17. The Royals grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, nine in the first half.
Roanoke is back in action this coming Saturday in a road game against the Generals of Washington & Lee University. The Maroons and Generals will get their game under way in Lexington, VA at 7:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Eastern Mennonite Box Score
