SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team improved to 6-0, its best start since the 1996-97 season, with a 79-73 victory over visiting Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday evening in Salem, VA. The Royals fall to 3-2 and 0-1 in the conference in the first Old Dominion Athletic Conference match-up for both squads. Wednesday's win also put the Maroons 500 games above .500 in their 93-year history, becoming only the ninth Division III to be able to make such a claim.

The Royals jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after a layup by junior Jason Sager, and extended their lead to as many as nine after LeRoger Parrish put away a jumper to give Eastern Mennonite a 24-15 lead with 8:35 remaining. Roanoke then clawed its way back, and took its first lead with 54 seconds to go on sophomore AJ Dowell's jumper, going ahead 33-31. Sophomore Ty Sigmon put the Maroons ahead by four with a jumper at the buzzer after a rebound off a missed three-pointer by Keith Carter.

The Maroons were ahead or tied for most of the second half, aside from a thirty-second stretch around the six-minute mark when the two teams traded leads several times. With the Royals ahead 62-61 at the 6:01 mark, senior Jared Butler put Roanoke ahead for good with a three-pointer, one of two he had in the game.

In their first five games, the Maroons had struggled to put teams away in the final minutes of the game, only shooting 55.8% from the free-throw line in the last five minutes of the game. Tonight, Roanoke showed a marked improvement by going 7-for-8 from the line in the last five minutes to seal the victory.

The Maroons also got the victory despite the absence of the team's second-leading scorer, sophomore Ben Shrader, who suffered a slight ankle injury during Saturday's win over NC Wesleyan. Five different players scored in double figures for Roanoke, with Butler leading the way with 15 points and sophomore Josh LaPorte adding fourteen to go along with seven rebounds. The Maroons made 50.9% of their shots from the field, including seven of 13 from three-point range. Eastern Mennonite was led by Sager's 19 points and 15 rebounds; the Royals shot 41.9% from the floor.

Roanoke continues its ODAC schedule on Saturday when it hosts Virginia Wesleyan at 3:00, while Eastern Mennonite hosts Bridgewater on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Roanoke vs. Eastern Mennonite Box Score