THE GAME FACTS
Score: Roanoke 88, Eastern Mennonite 58
Location: Salem, Va.
 
The Short Story: Justin Kuthan joined the Roanoke men's basketball program's 1,000-point club, totaling 21 points as the Maroons rolled past Eastern Mennonite on Senior Day in Salem.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game was tight early, with eight lead changes in the first five minutes of action. Joshua Morse put the Maroons on top 10-9 at the 15:20 mark, and a fastbreak basket from Joshua McClary made it 14-9 with 12:16 to go. But the Royals quickly battled back to pull even at 14-14 on Aviwe Mahlong's transition hoop at the 11:14 mark.
• A 7-0 run, capped off by a jumper from Trent Dawson with 8:15 left, would give Roanoke the lead for good at 21-14. EMU was able to hang around for most of the half, pulling back within one (30-29) on a 3-pointer from Mahlong with 2:14 to play.
• But another 7-0 spurt, which featured two Kuthan hoops sandwiched around a McClary trey, gave the Maroons some breathing room with a 40-31 halftime advantage.
• The second half was all Maroons. Back-to-back triples from Zach Rosenthal and McClary stretched the margin to 51-35 with 15:34 to play. The Royals wouldn't come any closer than 12 points for the rest of the game as Roanoke continued to pad the lead.
• Kuthan reached the 1,000-point plateau on a layup with 4:58 remaining.
• Prior to the opening tip, the Maroons honored Dawson, Kuthan and Jack Brestel during their Senior Day presentation.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Kuthan tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds, collecting his sixth double-double of the year.
• McClary also scored 21 points to match his career-high, and he added seven rebounds and seven assists. Rosenthal tallied 15 points, while Morse and Marcus Morgan each finished with nine points and six boards.
• Mahlong led EMU with 14 points, and DaiJordan Brown recorded 11 points and eight assists.
• The Maroons shot 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field, including a 60 percent clip (18-of-30) in the second half. Roanoke also knocked down 20-of-24 free throws in the game.

UP NEXT

• Roanoke has secured the No. 5 seed in next week's ODAC Tournament. The Maroons will take on fourth-seeded Washington and Lee in the quarterfinals at the Salem Civic Center at 3 p.m. Thursday.