EMU (11-9, 6-7 ODAC) won it first road conference game of the season and improved to 2-6 overall in away contests. It was also the third consecutive win for the Royals and fourth in the last five games.
LC (3-17, 3-10 ODAC) led only once at 4-2 before EMU took the lead for good at the 17:45 mark on a three-point field goal by senior point guard Dustin Galyon (Sterling, Kan.). The Royals continued to build the lead to as high as 10 in the first half before carrying a 42-34 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Hornets pulled to within five at 49-44 with 13:44 remaining before the Royals put together a 14-4 run, which included two three-pointers by sophomore guard Korey Whiting (Stafford, Va.). LC trailed by only four with two minutes to go, but Whiting hit four free throws and junior guard JoMorrae Gordon (Oakdale, Calif.) hit two free throws and two lay-ups to clinch the EMU victory, 83-73.
Junior forward Jason Sager (Edinburg, Va.) led EMU in scoring with 24 points, his eighth game of at least 20 points this season. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor and also had six rebounds and three assists. He scored 16 of his points in the game’s first half.
Sager moved into the top 10 on the all-time scoring list at EMU with 1,233 points, surpassing Calvin Williams (’73) with 1,217, Larry Sheets (’82) with 1,217, and Matt Yoder (’99) with 1,232. He needs just 34 points to tie Tim Ehst (’76) for ninth place at 1,267.
Whiting, who earlier in the day was named the ODAC Player of the Week, finished with 18 points for the Royals, including 16 in the second half. He made all three of his three-point attempts, went 7-for-9 at the free throw line, and added five rebounds and five assists.
Junior center Jason Lentz (Diana, W.Va.) received just his third start of the season and contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Brad Parkes (Winchester, Va.) had 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
EMU shot 64.4% from the field, its best shooting performance of the season. The Royals shot 29-for-45 from the floor and hit 6-of-11 (54.5%) three-point field goals. EMU led in rebounds 35-25. The Hornets shot 42.4% from the floor and made 7-of-16 (43.8%) of their three-pointers.
Senior Patrick Prior (Cheshire, Conn.) came off the bench to lead five Hornets in double-figures with 16 points and five rebounds. Junior Peter Vasiliou (Chincoteague, Va.), senior Matthew Sweeney (Hollywood, Md.), and senior Andy Albright (Hudson, Ohio) had 12 points each for LC while senior David Sheaffer (Charlottesville, Va.) added 10.
EMU will continue its stretch of five out of six games at home when the Royals return to Yoder Arena on Saturday for a 5 p.m. contest against the Wasps of Emory & Henry College.
Newspaper Box Score Eastern Mennonite University vs Lynchburg College 1/30/06 7 p.m. at Lynchburg, VA At Lynchburg, VA EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY 83, LYNCHBURG COLLEGE 73 EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY (11-9/6-7 ODAC) SAGER, Jason 9-12 5-12 24; WHITING, Korey 4-8 7-9 18; PARKES, Brad 4-4 3-4 11; LENTZ, Jason 5-8 0-1 10; GORDON, JoMorrae 2-4 2-2 6; GALYON, Dustin 2-5 0-0 5; PARRISH, LeRoger 2-2 0-0 5; BAILEY, Corey 1-1 2-2 4; BROWN, Dalany 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-45 19-30 83. LYNCHBURG COLLEGE (3-17/3-10 ODAC) PRIOR, Patrick 5-10 6-7 16; VASILIOU, Peter 5-8 2-2 12; SWEENEY, Matthew 4-8 2-3 12; ALBRIGHT, Andy 3-8 4-4 12; SHEAFFER, David 3-6 2-2 10; NORRIS, Drew 2-3 0-0 5; SAFO, Kwame 2-9 0-0 4; FAIRCHILD, Reed 1-4 0-0 2; SUTHERLAND, Sean 0-0 0-2 0; BURGESS, Jack 0-0 0-0 0; FANCOURT, Evan 0-2 0-0 0; GOINGS, Ramon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 16-20 73. Eastern Mennonite University.. 42 41 - 83 Lynchburg College............. 34 39 - 73 3-point goals-Eastern Mennonite University 6-11 (WHITING, Korey 3-3; PARRISH, LeRoger 1-1; GALYON, Dustin 1-4; SAGER, Jason 1-2; GORDON, JoMorrae 0-1), Lynchburg College 7-16 (SWEENEY, Matthew 2-5; SHEAFFER, David 2-3; ALBRIGHT, Andy 2-2; NORRIS, Drew 1-2; FANCOURT, Evan 0-1; SAFO, Kwame 0-1; PRIOR, Patrick 0-2). Fouled out--Eastern Mennonite University-None, Lynchburg College-VASILIOU, Peter; SAFO, Kwame. Rebounds-Eastern Mennonite University 35 (LENTZ, Jason 7), Lynchburg College 25 (PRIOR, Patrick 5). Assists-Eastern Mennonite University 20 (GORDON, JoMorrae 5; WHITING, Korey 5), Lynchburg College 16 (FAIRCHILD, Reed 5). Total fouls-Eastern Mennonite University 20, Lynchburg College 26. A-378