Posted: Jun 11, 2015
2014-15 was a year of milestones for the Roanoke men's basketball team. Head Coach Page Moir had three very outstanding accomplishments. Prior to the season, Moir was named President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Moir also earned his 400th career win with an 83-61 victory over SUNY-Brockport on November 16th, making him the 34th active coach to reach 400 wins in Division III. On January 24th, the Maroons defeated Bridgewater College 88-71 to give Moir his 250th Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory.
The Maroons started off the season with a loss to Marymount University on November 15th, but quickly bounced back the following day of the tip-off tournament. The men picked up their first win in the second game against a school who received votes in the pre-season top-25, the College of Brockport 83-61. The first win of the season gave Moir his 400th career victory, making him the only coach in Roanoke College history to eclipse this milestone!
The Maroons hit a good stride at the Dick Leftwich V-Foundation Classic, defeating Southern Virginia (80-69) and Methodist (89-82) to win the tournament. Daniel Eacho, who was named First-Team All-ODAC last season, was named tournament MVP and became the 34th player to score 1,000 points at RC. Andrew Daniels was named All-Tournament as well, as the benefit tournament raised funds for cancer research.
Roanoke opened ODAC play with a four-point loss to Hampden-Sydney, 71-67. The Tigers received votes in the top-25 poll. The Maroons bounced back with their ODAC home-opener against Eastern Mennonite, winning a tight 81-80 contest to start out 1-1 in conference play. The Royals were picked third in the ODAC pre-season poll. The Maroons also defeated Ferrum at home on December 16th, 80-65 to get off to an impressive 5-2 start. Roanoke had a tough time over the Daytona Beach Shootout on December 19-20, falling to Oneonta and Marymount, who was the Maroons third opponent in nine games that received votes in the top-25.
The men started 2015 with a win over SUNY-New Paltz in the first day of the 2015 Cregger Classic. The next day, Roanoke battled with Swarthmore, but fell 81-79 in double-overtime. This was the start to a stretch of nail-biting defeats for the Maroons. Starting with the Swarthmore contest, the Maroons lost four games by two points. The Maroons fell to #16 Randolph-Macon during the six-game skid, but knocked off Bridgewater during Maroon Madness 88-71 in front of a packed crowd at the Bast Center. The team fell to Lynchburg at home in a double-overtime thriller, taking a 103-101 loss against the Hornets, who received votes in the Top-25 poll. After a loss to a very tough #11 ranked Virginia Wesleyan, the Maroons picked up wins in three of the next four games. The Maroons topped Shenandoah University on the road 87-78, then returned home to defeat Randolph College 88-67. The Maroons took a loss to Guilford, despite seeing a season-high night from Andrew Daniels, who put up 25 points on 10-17 shooting. Roanoke's final win of the season came in a double-overtime thriller at home against Hampden-Sydney. The Maroons trailed by three in the closing moments of regulation, before Daniels received a full court pass from Seth Bradley and nailed the buzzer beater to send the game to overtime. The Maroons closed the regular season with a pair of losses, falling to Washington & Lee and Eastern Mennonite.
The Maroons earned a #10 seed in the ODAC Tournament and had to face off against #7 seed Washington & Lee, just five days after their previous meeting. Daniel Eacho put up a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in the effort, while Daniels scored 12 points with two rebounds, two steals and one assist. However, the Maroons couldn't overcome a few Generals' runs, and Roanoke closed its season with a 74-56 loss to Washington & Lee.
Daniel Eacho led the Maroons in scoring in the 2014-15 season, putting up 14.7 points per game, which totals to 382 total points over the course of the year. He also finished the season with 171 rebounds, including 136 defensive, which ranked fifth in the ODAC. Andrew Daniels was second on the team in scoring, putting up 14.5 points per game. He ranked 11th in the ODAC in points per game and 12th in total points (363). Daniels was third in the conference in total three pointers made, hitting 62 shots from behind the arc. Julian Ramirez averaged 9.8 points per contest, while ranking second in the league in assists (120) and 11th in steals. He also had the 10th best field goal percentage, hitting 50 percent of all of his shots. Junior Cameron Smith was the second best rebounder for the Maroons, pulling down a total of 179 rebounds. His total rebounds and rebounds per game (6.9) ranked eighth in the ODAC. He also ranked fourth in the conference in offensive rebounds, accumulating 66 over the season.
Eacho, a senior from North Chesterfield, Va., put in hard work both on the court and in the classroom, being named the 2015 ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar Athlete of the Year, as well as All-ODAC Third Team. The perennial Roanoke Dean's List honoree owns a 3.56 grade point average as a Political Science and History major. A member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Lambda Delta, Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Alpha Theta, Eacho serves as an on-campus tutor as well as member of the Catholic Campus Ministry. He is also an intern at Woods Rogers Law Firm in Roanoke. On the court, Eacho finished the season averaging 14.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, both top-10 in the ODAC. He is third in field goals made (144) and collected six double-doubles. Twice he eclipsed the 30-point plateau, including a season-best 37 points to go with 10 boards against Lynchburg College in late-January.
Daniel Eacho finished his career at Roanoke College with 1,311 points, ranking 16th all-time at Roanoke College. He was one point shy of tying Bruce Hembrick '81 for 15th all-time. He also finished 8th all-time in rebounding at Roanoke College, pulling down 724 boards over his career. Julian Ramirez finishes his career ranked third all-time at Roanoke in assists, dishing out 391 over his time as a Maroon. He also ranks 8th all-time in career steals, finishing with 156. Andrew Daniels, who came back from injury in the final game of the year, tallied 970 career points, which ranks 34th all-time at Roanoke College. He also finished his career tied for sixth all-time in three pointers made, hitting 127, 62 of which came during 2014-15 season.
