Shenandoah (3-0) led 37-25 just before thwe Royals' Chris Ropp hit a buzzer beating three-pointer to end the first half. EMU (2-1) then managed to chip away at the Hornets lead until finally tying the game at 50-50 with 10:20 remaining.
The Royals eventually extended their advantage to three following jumpers by Brad Parkes and Korey Whiting, but SU found another gear.
Senior Chris Rhone (Washington, D.C./Northwestern) gave his club a lead it would not relinquish with a three-pointer at the 6:11 mark, and Shenandoah held on from there.
After pulling away by as many as five, Eastern Mennonite cut the deficit to two on two different occasions, the last with 1:14 remaining. After Kenny Purnell (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) missed a 'trey' with 35 seconds left, the Royals held for the last shot.
Ropp missed his attempt from the corner and Chris Jenkins (Bristow, Va./Brentsville) rebounded for the hosts, securing the victory.
Freshman Jeremiah Lawrence (Forestville, Md./Forestville) led with a game high 19 points; he was a perfect 8 for 8 from the field. Rhone added 16 and Purnell 15 to round out the Hornets double digit scorers.
Jason Sager had 15 points and 14 boards for EMU. Parkes, a James Wood HS grad, had 10 points off the bench.
www.su.edu/athletics/mb/200405/112304.htm"> Box Score/Play by Play
Shenandoah is off until next Tuesday when they face longtime rival Frostburg State.
Eastern Mennonite Royals vs Shenandoah Hornets 11/23/04 7:30 at Shingleton Gymnasium Winchester, Va. At Shingleton Gymnasium Winchester, Va. SHENANDOAH HORNETS 65, EASTERN MENNONITE ROYALS 63 EASTERN MENNONITE ROYALS (2-1) SAGER, Jason 6-12 3-5 15; ROPP, Chris 4-8 0-0 11; PARKES, Brad 5-6 0-0 10; LENTZ, Jason 3-7 4-4 10; WHITING, Korey 3-5 0-0 7; ARRINGTON, EJ 1-4 1-6 3; GORDON, JoMorrae 1-3 0-0 2; DYER, Earl 1-1 0-0 2; BAILEY, Corey 1-1 0-0 2; GAYLON, Dustin 0-1 1-2 1; KING, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0; LYONS, Jered 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 9-17 63. SHENANDOAH HORNETS (3-0) LAWRENCE, Jeremiah 8-8 3-4 19; RHONE, Chris 6-15 2-4 16; PURNELL, Kenneth 6-15 0-1 15; JOHNS, Steven 2-5 0-0 4; ONUNAKU, Onyie 0-2 4-6 4; JENKINS, Chris 2-6 0-0 4; HALE, Jared 1-6 0-0 3; MILLER, Patrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 9-15 65. Eastern Mennonite Royals...... 28 35 - 63 Shenandoah Hornets............ 37 28 - 65 3-point goals-Eastern Mennonite Royals 4-12 (ROPP, Chris 3-4; WHITING, Korey 1-2; GORDON, JoMorrae 0-1; GAYLON, Dustin 0-1; PARKES, Brad 0-1; SAGER, Jason 0-3), Shenandoah Hornets 6-20 (PURNELL, Kenneth 3-6; RHONE, Chris 2-5; HALE, Jared 1-6; JENKINS, Chris 0-1; JOHNS, Steven 0-2). Fouled out--Eastern Mennonite Royals-None, Shenandoah Hornets-None. Rebounds-Eastern Mennonite Royals 38 (SAGER, Jason 14), Shenandoah Hornets 29 (ONUNAKU, Onyie 8). Assists-Eastern Mennonite Royals 9 (GORDON, JoMorrae 2; LENTZ, Jason 2; GAYLON, Dustin 2), Shenandoah Hornets 9 (PURNELL, Kenneth 3). Total fouls-Eastern Mennonite Royals 15, Shenandoah Hornets 17. A-562