(Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) canned a three pointer on the first possession of the game, then after an Eagle bucket the men scored seven in a row to go up 10-2.聽 Mary Washington got their second basket, but (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) scored the next six points for a quick 16-4 lead just 5:14 into the contest.

The Runnin Royals surged again, as Daniel capped a 13-2 run with another triple to push the lead to 29-12.聽 The Eagles finally settled down and got within four before 91短视频 took a 42-36 lead into halftime.

The teams traded jabs for much of the second half until (Bassett, VA/Carlisle) scored six straight to push the edge back up to 62-51.

Mary Washington fought back but would get no closer than four points.聽 Down the stretch, 91短视频 made just enough free throws and played great defense, limiting the Eagles to just three points over the final four minutes, to seal the 79-71 win.

The men shot 52%, nearly double what they shot in a loss to Christopher Newport just two days earlier.

(Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams) led four Royals in double figures with 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals.聽 Sims finished with 17 points and three assists, while Daniel charted 15 with three assists.

(Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) notched 11 points.聽 (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) made his presence felt with eight boards and three assists.

UMW’s Sean Armstrong (Richmond, VA/Monacan) led all players with 20 points.

The Runnin Royals close their first half at 8-4, including 1-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.聽 After a 16-day break in action, Eastern Mennonite returns to the floor with a road game at Emory & Henry on Jan. 5.

The men jumped to a 9-2 lead, but then watched the Saints score the next six points to make it a ball game. Marymount had a couple of two-point leads before the teams sailed into halftime tied at 33-33.

The Runnin Royals made quick adjustments at halftime and scored the first six points coming out of the break. They continued the run by attacking the basket, scoring their first 14 points on layups or dunks and springing to a 47-37 lead.

The cushion grew to as many as 16 points when (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) canned a three pointer to make it 62-46 just nine minutes into the period.

Marymount regrouped and slowly chipped into the lead, getting as close as seven points in the final minute.聽 But the Royals scored the final four points of the contest to lock up the 11-point win.

Thorne had his second straight 25-point outing, going 11-14 from the floor.聽 The senior added eight rebounds, including five offensive, to lead 91短视频 in that category as well.

Four other men scored in double figures, led by (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) with 12 points.聽 (Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams) earned his first start and responded with 11 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals.聽 (Bassett, VA/Carlisle) finished with 11 counters and (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) added 10.

Most team statistics were relatively even between the two squads, except for shooting.聽 The Royals finished with a 57% clip, including 70% in the second half, while Marymount shot 46%.

After starting the year with four straight wins in Yoder Arena, Eastern Mennonite hits the road this weekend to open their ODAC slate.聽 The Royals play at Guilford in a men’s/women’s doubleheader on Wednesday, playing the late game at 7:30pm.聽 They play at Roanoke on Saturday.

The difference is that now, transfers are coming to him.

Division III 91短视频 will debut at least two and possibly three transfers this season, including power forward Dorian Valentine, who came from Division II Davis & Elkins. Valentine will be joined by Hesston (Junior) College transfer Jordan King, and Dean said he has a verbal commitment from Chris Yoder, a transfer from D-III Messiah College.

Another potential point guard transfer from a D-II school will be visiting 91短视频 today. Dean did not disclose his name, but noted that he played 25 minutes per game at his old school and is “seriously considering” the Royals.

“We didn’t used to have people beating down the door to come to Eastern Mennonite,” Dean said Tuesday.

Could the influx of transfers be because of the Royals’ success the last few years, including a trip to the D-III national quarterfinals in 2010?

“Yeah,” said Dean, who has guided 91短视频 to its first two 20-plus win seasons in the program’s 46-year history. “I don’t know what else it could be.”

Dean’s most prized transfer is Valentine, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound, rising junior power forward. Valentine transferred from D&E in 2011 and was required to sit out last season.

“I think Dorian has a chance to help right away, because he played two years in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and that’s not a crummy Division II league,” Dean said. “That’s a really good league.”

Yoder, a 6-4, 180-pound guard from Manheim, Pa., was a full-time starter at Messiah his freshman year, when he averaged 9.6 points per game. He saw his minutes drop as a sophomore last season, when he averaged 5.6 points per game.

Dean said he has never seen King play, but that Hesston coach Dustin Galyon – a former 91短视频 player under Dean – recommended King, a 6-4, 200-pound forward, as a “great fit” for 91短视频.

In general, Dean said he doesn’t pursue transfers because it’s more difficult for them to receive financial aid than true freshmen. But, when players show “so much interest in our school, I’d be crazy not to,” he said.

Dean is just as excited about the four incoming freshmen he’s recruited so far, three of whom are at least 6-4 – including 6-4, 180-pound swingman Mike Richardson of Broadway High School.

Richardson, who committed to 91短视频 in early April, averaged 20.9 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Gobblers this season.

“He was as good as any wing player I saw that we had a chance to get involved with anywhere,” Dean said of Richardson. “It just so happens that he only lives a few miles from campus.”

Joining Richardson will be 6-7, 210-pound forward Rashad Chambers of Covington; 6-5, 210-pound forward Justin Glenn of Arlington; and 6-2, 165-pound guard Donte Harris of Winchester.

Dean said Chambers is likely to make an immediate impact simply because of his size and enormous wingspan, noting that Chambers can “stand up straight and scratch his knees without bending his back.”

“I think Rashad’s going to help us right away because he’s so tall and athletic, but his ceiling is so stinking high that he’s nowhere close to being as good as he can be,” Dean said. “I mean, wait ’til you see the frame on this kid.”

Dean also said that Harris could bring outside shooting to a Royals team that shot just 28.3 percent from 3-point range last season. Glenn is the most likely to need some time to develop.

The 2011-12 campaign was a rebuilding one for 91短视频, which returned no starters and only three players with any significant experience from the previous year. The Royals finished 12-15 overall but played their best basketball at the end of the season, winning three games in a row before falling to Randolph-Macon in overtime in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals.

But with his incoming recruiting class joining a more experienced group, Dean is expecting much more this year.

“I felt like if we could bridge from [last year’s] team to the future without having to go all the way to the back of the ODAC – without feeling like we had to start over – that we’d be in good shape,” Dean said. “We were really able to do that.

“Now, it’s time to step up, it’s time to realize that we can jump right back into the fray and be a contender.”

Courtesy Daily News Record, May 16, 2012