SALEM – The Roanoke College men's basketball team held of Eastern Mennonite in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action, at the Maroons defeated the Royals 81-80 on Saturday.  The Maroons now have a record of 4-2, 1-1 in ODAC play, while the Royals are also 4-2, 1-1 in the ODAC.
 
Roanoke had four players in double-figures, with Andrew Daniels leading the way with 15 points.  Daniels hit all four of Roanoke's three pointers in the game and tied for second on the squad in assists with four.  Cameron Smith was second in scoring with 13 points, shooting 5-9 from the field.  He also notched a double-double after pulling down 11 rebounds.  This is his second double-double of the season, after putting up 13 points and 10 rebounds against Methodist on November 22^nd.
 
Daniel Eacho finished with 12 points and four rebounds on the night, ranking third in scoring for the Maroons.  Carter Wright tallied a total of 10 points, going along with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.  Julian Ramirez led the Maroons in assists with six, finishing with eight points and four rebounds.
 
Eastern Mennonite led the first three minutes of the contest with Rashawn Latimer knocking down a three-pointer to open all scoring.  With 17:34 to play, the Royals had built a 7-4 lead over the Maroons.  The Maroons then went on a 17-2 run over the next three mintues, which included three, three-pointers from Andrew Daniels, with four points added from Cameron Smith.  By 14:39, Roanoke had turned the tides and now led 21-9 over Eastern Mennonite.  Halfway through the first half, Roanoke led by 15 points after a layup from Julian Ramirez.  Roanoke continued to hold Eastern Mennonite at bay through the remainder of the first half, with the Maroons capping the first 20 minutes on a 10-2 run.  At half, Roanoke led by 20 over EMU, 52-32.
 
Roanoke continued to score in the opening moments of the second half, with Ramirez hitting a layup and Eacho knocking down two free throws to go ahead by 24, 58-32.  Eastern Mennonite got hot over the next three minutes, going on a 13-2 run of their own, pulling back within 13, 58-45.  John Fitchett stopped the EMU scoring streak after throwing down a dunk to go back up by 15.  After a three minute scoring drought by both teams, the Royals started to chip away at the Roanoke lead again, breaking the 10 deficit at 6:59, cutting it to seven 68-61.  Roanoke started answering for each shot by the Royals, with Carter Wright hitting a layup, and Eacho knocking down a jumper after EMU free throws.
 
Yates and Crump of EMU hit two free throws each, while Daniels hit his fourth three-pointer of the night to keep the Maroons ahead by eight, 75-67 with 3:27 to play. Yates continued to score for the Royals, hitting free throws, then a layup at 1:03 to pull EMU within three, 81-78.  Roanoke missed a layup, then Crump hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one with 50 seconds to play.  The Maroons missed an opportunity to extend the lead, with EMU getting the defensive rebounds.  Yates came down the floor with five seconds on the clock and missed a three pointer.  After a EMU foul, Roanoke missed the front end of a 1-1, David Falk heaved a full court shot that hit off the backboard and rim, but bounced away, giving Roanoke the 81-80 ODAC victory.
 
Eastern Mennonite finished the game with five players scoring 10 points or more.  Ryan Yates led all players with 22 points, tallying six rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Marcel Crump went 4-8 from the field to finish with 15 points on the evening.  James Williams led the team in assists with three, while finishing the contest with 12 points.  Jerome Jones and David Falk each compiled 10 points, with Falk leading all players in rebounds, notching a double-double with 13 rebounds.  Falk also had four of the team's five blocks.
 
The Maroons get a long break before going back in action as Roanoke hosts Ferrum College for non-conference action on December 16^th.  That contest is scheduled for a 5:00 PM start.
 
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