Posted: Dec 19, 2014
This was the first meeting between Roanoke College and SUNY-Oneonta. The Maroons take their first loss after winning the last two consecutive games, having defeated Eastern Mennonite and Ferrum over the past two weeks.
The Maroons had three players in double-figures, led by Daniel Eacho who netted 17 points in today's contest. He finished with four rebounds, also hitting 3-4 from the free throw line. Andrew Daniels put up 15 points, which included three of Roanoke's five treys in the contest. Julian Ramirez tallied 10 points, while leading the Maroons in assists with six.
Roanoke jumped out to 5-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the contest, backed by points from Eacho, Ramirez and John Fitchett. Roanoke went back and forth in holding the lead with Oneonta through the 14 minute mark, before the Red Dragons took an extended lead at 13:30. The Red Dragons went on an 11-3 run that ran through the 8:40 mark, going ahead by seven, 20-13. The Maroons bounced back with a run of their own, scoring six consecutive points on the backs of Eacho, Alex Weant and Marcus Scott. However, the Red Dragons stopped the streak with a trey from Mikey McElroy. Oneonta built a five point lead through the end of the first half as Roanoke trailed 32-27 after the first 20 minutes of play.
Andrew Daniels and Julian Ramirez both hit three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half as Roanoke tied Oneonta 37-37. Eacho and Daniels followed up with layups to give the Maroons a four point advantage at 16:22. However, the Red Dragons went on a 9-0 run, reclaiming the lead and going ahead by five, 46-41 with 13:32 to play. A few minutes later, the Maroons got back within one on two different occasions as Weant hit timely jumpers. Oneonta hit back to back three-pointers with 6:00 to play building the advantage to 11 points, 62-51. The Red Dragons' 11 point lead remained through the remainder of the second half, with Zach Mager hitting five consecutive free throws to seal the 81-69 win for Oneonta.
The Red Dragons' Zach Mager led all players on the afternoon with 25 points, hitting 3-4 from behind the arc and 8-9 from the free throw line. Mager also tied for a team high with Mike Mcelroy and Lawrence Coleman in rebounds, pulling down seven boards apiece. McElroy was the second highest scorer on the squad with 17 points, shooting 5-9 from the field. Frankie Kelly tallied 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Red Dragons' victory. Kareem Williams also finished in double-figures with 10 points, along with six rebounds.
The two teams shot a nearly identical 38 percent from the field, as well as a similar mark from behind the arc (RC – 29.4, Oneonta – 30.0). The real advantage came from the free throw line where the Red Dragons hit 23-27, while the Maroons were 12-18 from the stripe. The Maroons led in assists 15-14, while the teams tied in rebounds with 45 each.
The Maroons return to action on Saturday, December 20th as they take on Marymount University in Roanoke's second game in the 2014 Daytona Beach Shootout. That contest is scheduled for an 8:00 PM start.
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