EMORY, VA- Trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Roanoke College men's basketball team rallied to tie the score at the end of regulation and then outscored host Emory & Henry 14-9 in overtime to take home a 112-107 road win. The Maroons, who have won 10 of their last 11 games, improve to 11-8 on the season and 7-5 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Roanoke's 7-5 league record put it in a current tie for third place in the ODAC standings. Emory & Henry, which had won the last two home games against the Maroons, fall to 11-8, 7-6 in conference play.
Leading 47-39 at halftime, the Maroons had a slew of turnovers in the early stages of the second half and with 12:26 left in regulation lost that lead on a Josh Brown layup. Ahead 67-66, the Wasps went on a 23-9 run, sparked by four three-pointers, over the next five minutes and with 7:20 on the clock took their largest lead, 90-75.
Down by 15, the Maroons defense tightened up to end the half and in the process the Maroon fought their way back into the game. With 5:00 minutes left, AJ Dowell made back-to-back free throws and the E&H lead was down to 10, 95-85. After getting a defensive stop, Zach Milton tipped in a missed shot to cut the lead to single-digits. Another Maroon defensive stop and a fastbreak layup from Curtis Peery and the score was 95-89 with 3:27 to play.
The Wasps got a free throw on their next possession, but Peery made another basket in the paint to trim the lead to five, 96-91. The Maroons kept E&H off the board on their next two possessions and on a Milton finger-role layup and Dowell 15-footer, the Maroons were within one, 96-95, with 1:50 showing.
Again, the Maroons defense was up to the task, holding the Wasps off the board. With just 48 seconds left on the clock, Dowell made Roanoke's lone three-pointer of the game and Roanoke led 98-96. E&H's Anthony Hairston countered with a driving layup and the game went to overtime.
Roanoke opened the scoring in the overtime, getting a free throw from Ben Lawler. Lawler had also opened the scoring for the Maroons in the second half, scoring on three straight layups and getting nine of RC's first 13 points of the second.
The Maroons led by as many as three in early overtime, but the Wasps regained the lead on two Hairston free throws with 55 seconds to play, 107-106. Again, Milton had an answer for Roanoke, hitting an off-balance jumper from the free throw line to give the Maroons the lead for good. With E&H taking desperation threes, Roanoke got late foul shots from Dowell and Keith Carter to ice the win.
Milton ended the game with his first career double-double, scoring a career-high 18 points and adding 10 rebounds. He also had four assists and two blocks. Lawler missed his first career double-double by just one rebound. He did score a career-high 17 points, making all six of his shots from the field. Dowell led all players with 19 points, Tee Jackson chipped in 13 points and three assists, and Peery finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Drew Gaeng came off the bench to score six points, hitting two free throws and his two shots from the field.
Roanoke set an ODAC record with 72 rebounds in the game, winning the battle of the boards 72-54. The old conference mark was 71 and was set by Hampden-Sydney just last season, at Emory & Henry. Roanoke's 112 points was its most in a game since defeating Gallaudet 112-61 during the 1996-97 season.
Roanoke's win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wasps and was Roanoke's first win in Emory, VA since the 2003-04 season. The Maroons are back in action on Saturday when they host defending ODAC and national champion Virginia Wesleyan at 2:00pm.
Roanoke vs. Emory & Henry Box Score
