Posted: Feb 21, 2009
SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke defeated Emory & Henry, 88-77 in its regular season finale at the Bast Center Saturday evening. The Maroons ended the regular season with a 19-6 record, 11-5 in the ODAC while the Wasps dropped to 11-14, 5-11 in the conference.
It was senior night as Drew Gaeng, Zach Milton, Curtis Peery and Aaron Tyson were honored prior to tip-off. They have produced a four-year record of 68-38 and have improved their record in each of the last four seasons.
The 19 overall wins and the 10-2 home record are the best since 2000-01 as the Maroons won 11 ODAC games for the third-straight season. Roanoke is on win shy of marking its 20th 20-win season and the first one in eight years.
Roanoke scored 31 points off 22 turnovers and outscored the Wasps, 40-30 in the paint.
The score remained close throughout the first 10 minutes until Roanoke went out on a 25-10 run to extend its lead to 16, 40-24 just before the half. The Maroons went into intermission with a 42-31 lead.
Roanoke pushed its lead out to a game-high 19 points, 53-34 in the first two minutes of the second half. The Wasps cut the Maroon lead to seven twice, but the men held on to give the seniors their 68th win of their careers.
Curtis Peery scored 18 points and passed Hal Johnston '72 for 15th on the all-time scoring list with 1,333 career points. He needs six more to move into 12th all-time. He is currently sixth in the Div. III-era (1979). His 298 free-throws are 17 from passing Reggie Thomas '85 for ninth all-time. He currently has the highest scoring average since former player and current assistant coach, Robby Pridgen averaged 21 a game in 2002-03. He needs seven more free-throws made to be 10th on the single-season list (123).
Aaron Tyson finished with two blocked shots and is one shy of reaching seventh in single-season blocks (36). He currently averages 1.5 blocked shots per game, the highest since Bryant Lee averaged 2.4 bpg in 1993-94.
Roanoke was led by Parrish Walker with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Matt Crizer tied his career-high with 11 points including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kendrick Chittock chipped in nine points for the Maroons.
The Wasps were led by Kyle Huckins with 20 points and five rebounds. Robert Hudson finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Jarell Christian tossed in 14.
The men will be the #3 seed in the ODAC Tournament and a first-round bye as they will take on the winner of the 6/11 matchup (Virginia Wesleyan/Lynchburg) on Tuesday. After the first round, the remainder of the tournament will be held at the Salem Civic Center Feb. 27-Mar. 1. Tip-off on Friday is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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