The Basics
Score: #20 Roanoke 85 | Eastern 58
Records: Maroons 1-0 | Eagles 1-1
Location: Salem, Va.
The Lead: Roanoke College played host to Eastern University in the opening game of the 2021 Dick Leftwich Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night. It was the Maroons opener in a season that sees the Roanoke start the year with a #20 national ranking. Roanoke opened the game on a 5-0 run and after a pair of Eagles points, seized control and pulled away throughout the first 20 minutes of play. After taking a big lead into the break, Roanoke would see their advantage cut to 20, before once again pulling away for the 85-58, season opening, win.
How it Happened:
- Kasey Draper staked Roanoke to an early 5-0 lead before Eastern responded with four in a row.
- Roanoke would take control and after a Brandon Ellington 3-pointer, the Maroons lead would grow to double-digits, 16-6.
- An Efosa U-Edosomwan jumper and hoop by Justin Kuthan would push the advantage to 20-points. A final Draper bucket would give the Maroons a 45-19 edge at the break.
- Eastern would cut the lead to 20 with 13:50 on the clock. A Joshua Morse layup would spark a 9-5 run that re-established control for RC as they would once again start to open up their advantage.
- Colin Burns scored from long range to give Roanoke their largest lead to that point, 77-48, with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Collin Himmelberg hit a 3-pointer to push the lead above 30, before the Eagles closed the game on a 5-0 run to make the final 85-58.
- Draper led all scorers with 25 while U-Edosomwan added 15. In total, 12 different Maroons finished in the scoring column. Nick Price handed out seven of RC's 19 assists with Draper and Morse each grabbing five rebounds.
Up next: Roanoke will face #3 Marietta tomorrow at 3:00pm in a matchup of top-20 teams. The Pioneers picked up a 3-point win over Christopher Newport in the night cap, 86-83, to set up tomorrow's tournament final.
