Maroons Tame Cougars With 70-50 Win in Danville

THE GAME FACTS

• Score:  Roanoke 70, Averett 50
• Records:  Maroons 13-2, 6-0 ODAC; Cougars 6-10, 2-5 ODAC
• Location: Danville, Va. – Grant Center
• The Short Story: An early Averett lead quickly evaporated as the Roanoke men's basketball responded in a big way for a 70-50 win over the ODAC newcomer Cougars in Danville. Kasey Draper led all scorers with 16 points and added eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars opened the game by scoring seven of the first nine points for the 7-2 lead just 2:33 into the game. However, this lead disappeared over the next four minutes with the Maroons tying the score at 11-11 at 13:36 thanks to a three-pointer by Zach Rosenthal. Averett would take back the lead with a three-pointer of their own at 12:36, but a pair of free throws by Joshua Morse at 10:42 put the Maroons on top once again, 15-14. This was the last time Roanoke would need to retake the lead from the Cougars.
• The two points by Morse started a 17-6 run by the Maroons over the next, nearly eight minutes of play with Roanoke leading 30-20 at the 3:32 mark. The two teams traded baskets in the final two and a half minutes with the Maroons leading 35-24 at halftime.
• The final 20 minutes were still not kind to the conference newcomers, as Roanoke opened the second half on a 9-4 run in the first five minutes of the period to lead 44-28. Most of the final 15 minutes saw both teams score responding baskets and free throws to the other with Roanoke extending their lead by four more points by the end of the contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Roanoke shot just under 50% (49.1) for the game on 27-of-55 shooting, including six three-pointers.
• The Maroons went to the free-throw line 18 times, compared to just eight for the Cougars. Roanoke finished with 10 made and Averett made just four.
• In the end, the Maroons led AU in assists (14-8), points off turnovers (17-9), points in the paint (36-18), fast break points (6-3), and bench points (41-22).
• In addition to Draper's 16 points, Rosenthal finished with 13 and Justin Kuthan finished with 10. Draper also had a team-high eight rebounds to nearly secure his second double-double of the season.
• The win by the Maroons was the 20^th in the all-time series between the two schools with Roanoke having a 20-2 record against Averett. It was also the first time since early in the 2019-20 season that the two teams have met. The first all-time matchup was a 63-57 win by the Maroons during the 1977-78 season.

UP NEXT

• The Maroons return to campus on Saturday, January 14 when Shenandoah comes for an ODAC visit. Tip-off with the Hornets is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.