EMU (9-9, 4-7 ODAC) and RC (10-8, 4-7) battled back and forth for much of the first half before the Royals grabbed the lead for good at 26-24 with 5:45 remaining in the period. EMU built the lead as high as nine before carrying a 40-34 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, Roanoke crawled to within one at 40-39 to start the period, but EMU quickly went on a 13-2 run to build the lead to 12 with 14:55 remaining. The Royals eventually went on to build the lead as large as 16 at 65-49 with 11:18 remaining. The Maroons pulled within six at 78-72 with 46 seconds remaining, but EMU was able to ice the victory at the free throw line and pull out the 86-79 triumph.
Sophomore guard Korey Whiting (Stafford, Va.) had 24 points to lead EMU and tied an EMU record for free throw percentage by going 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. He tied Joel Kauffman’s 12-for-12 performance, which took place on November 29, 1999 against Virginia Wesleyan College. Whiting also had five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Senior forward E.J. Arrington (Staunton, Va.) had a double-double with a season-high 21 points along with 10 rebounds. Junior forward Jason Sager (Edinburg, Va.) also had a double-double with 20 points, 16 rebounds, and three assists.
The Royals shot 43.9% for the game, including 51.9% in the second half, and had one of their better performances of the season from long range, going 7-for-12 from the three-point arch. EMU also made 29-of-38 free throw attempts, compared to just 14-of-24 for RC. The Maroons shot 43.1% from the floor and 34.6% from the arch. EMU led in rebounds 45-37.
Four players scored in double figures for Roanoke, led by senior guard Jared Butler (Springfield, Va.) with 23 points. Sophomore guard Ben Shrader (Tazewell, Va.) scored 14, freshman forward Michael Diggs (Charlotte, N.C.) netted 13 points, and junior guard Tee Jackson (Galax, Va.) contributed 12 points and five assists.
EMU will return home on Saturday in the second game during a stretch of five out of six games at home to face Hampden-Sydney College at 7 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Roanoke vs Eastern Mennonite 01/25/06 7:00pm at Harrisonburg, Va. At Harrisonburg, Va. EASTERN MENNONITE 86, ROANOKE 79 ROANOKE (10-8, 4-7 ODAC) BUTLER, Jared 9-16 2-4 23; SHRADER, Ben 4-12 4-4 14; DIGGS, Michael 5-6 2-2 13; JACKSON, Tee 5-11 0-2 12; LAPORTE, Josh 3-6 1-3 7; DOWELL, AJ 1-3 1-2 4; SIGMON, Ty 1-1 0-1 2; DAVIS, Bart 0-0 2-2 2; PEERY, Curtis 0-2 1-2 1; MILTON, Zach 0-0 1-2 1; EDSALL, Dan 0-1 0-0 0; ALLEN, Jamiel 0-0 0-0 0; TYSON, Aaron 0-0 0-0 0; CARTER, Keith 0-6 0-0 0; LEITER, Jeff 0-0 0-0 0; LAWLER, Ben 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 14-24 79. EASTERN MENNONITE (9-9, 4-7 ODAC) WHITING, Korey 6-10 12-12 24; ARRINGTON, E.J. 7-15 4-7 21; SAGER, Jason 6-14 6-7 20; GORDON, JoMorrae 1-2 5-6 8; PARKES, Brad 2-6 2-4 6; LYONS, Jered 1-2 0-0 3; BAILEY, Corey 1-2 0-2 2; PARRISH, LeRoger 1-3 0-0 2; DYER, Earl 0-0 0-0 0; GALYON, Dustin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 29-38 86. Roanoke....................... 34 45 - 79 Eastern Mennonite............. 40 46 - 86 3-point goals-Roanoke 9-26 (BUTLER, Jared 3-7; JACKSON, Tee 2-5; SHRADER, Ben 2-7; DOWELL, AJ 1-2; DIGGS, Michael 1-1; EDSALL, Dan 0-1; CARTER, Keith 0-3), Eastern Mennonite 7-12 (ARRINGTON, E.J. 3-4; SAGER, Jason 2-2; GORDON, JoMorrae 1-1; LYONS, Jered 1-2; GALYON, Dustin 0-2; WHITING, Korey 0-1). Fouled out--Roanoke-DOWELL, AJ; PEERY, Curtis, Eastern Mennonite-None. Rebounds-Roanoke 37 (LAPORTE, Josh 9), Eastern Mennonite 45 (SAGER, Jason 16). Assists-Roanoke 14 (CARTER, Keith 6), Eastern Mennonite 17 (GORDON, JoMorrae 5). Total fouls-Roanoke 26, Eastern Mennonite 18. A-630