Winter聽2015 held some uncertain moments for the Eastern Mennonite men’s and women’s basketball teams, but both squads are expected聽to be a force in the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament, which begins February 27 in Salem, Virginia at the Salem Civic Center.

Lady Royals Powerhouse Record Includes聽Home Winning Streak of 30聽Games

The 91短视频 women’s basketball team closed regular season play聽out in February 2015 by solidifying聽their聽first place ranking in the ODAC.聽The team’s overall record is 21-3 (15-1 conference) as of February 26, 2015.

That powerhouse record includes a home winning streak of 30聽games: their last loss in Yoder Arena occurred over two seasons聽ago in January 2013.

In early January, the Lady Royals’ versatile forward聽聽earned her second spot on the Team of the Week and by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). This is the first season that the USBWA is recognizing national players of the week from Division III.

In February Rheinhemer was named one of five in nation to the聽Capital One Academic All-America First Team. A member of the 91短视频聽, Rheinheimer holds a 3.96 GPA in the university鈥檚 well-respected聽, along with a minor in聽.

Men’s Team Seeded聽No. 4聽in Tourney

The Runnin Royals have gathered a number of career records and personal honors聽even after battling through聽a聽tough non-conference聽and ODAC schedule.

The team has a record of 16-9聽overall (9-7 conference) as of February 26, 2015.

The men聽clinched the No. 4 seed with an .

Some of the honors accrued this season were for senior聽, who聽was named聽ODAC Player of the Week after collecting double doubles during dramatic wins聽in mid-January. 聽

As of Feb. 22 the 6-6 center is ranked third in the nation for rebounds per game.聽Falk聽is , having logged 192聽throughout the regular season.聽He聽is currently ranked . (More info:聽)

, was named Royal Athlete of the Week on January 22 after he went multiple games hitting聽100 percent of his attempts聽from the free throw line.

Runnin Royals鈥� starting point guard聽聽earned the聽Royal Athlete of the Week honor when he logged career bests of 18 points and nine assists.

鈥淚 like setting my teammates up to score,鈥� said Williams, a senior from Capitol Heights, Md. 聽鈥淲hen I give an assist I feel like I scored the bucket myself.鈥�

Tournament聽Game聽Info聽in Salem, Va.

Check out the ODAC website for聽live stats and video for postseason games yet to be played, and scores and game reports from completed games.

Men’s basketball:聽

Women’s basketball:

Games are played at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

Despite leading 40-27 at halftime, the Royals watched as Washington and Lee slowly chipped back in.聽 Even with 32 seconds left in regulation, 91短视频 led by five, 74-69.聽 W&L answered with a layup and then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play.

The visitors got a single free throw with 21 seconds left, then a fortuitous offensive rebound off the missed second toss.聽 Larry Whitaker (Bartlett, IL/Bartlett) missed a jumper with 16 seconds left and (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) muscled out the rebound.聽 91短视频’s big man was fouled and made one of two free throws to keep the lead at three, 75-72.

The Generals quickly came down the floor and guard Kelton Buchanan (Powder Springs, GA/Hillgrove) drilled a three pointer from the left side with seven seconds left to knot the score.聽 Eastern Mennonite couldn’t get off a clean shot, leaving the game to be decided in OT.

(Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) stepped up for the men in the extra session, scoring 91短视频’s first six points to build up an 81-77 lead.聽 (Front Royal, VA/ Skyline) added a fastbreak dunk after a steal by (Madison, VA/Madison) to put the edge at six with 1:37 to go.

The Runnin Royals then iced the game from the free throw line, making 6-of-8 tosses to keep W&L from making another comeback.

Eastern Mennonite shot 46% in the win, compared to 41% for the Generals.聽 The visitors did have a 46-40 edge on the boards, but the Royals more than made up for that by forcing 24 turnovers.聽 Free throws were basically even, with 91短视频 going 21-33 while Washington and Lee finished 21-31.

Longacre had one of the best games of his career and charted his first double double of the season.聽 He tied his career high with 20 points and pulled down 10 big rebounds.聽 Sims was right behind him with 19 counters.

Thorne finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) had 10 points and four assists.聽 (Capitol Heights, MD/Archbishop Carroll) added eight points off the bench.

Drew Kimberly (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) had 20 points to lead Washington and Lee.

The Royals, now 3-2 in the ODAC, move over .500 in the conference for the first time this season.聽 91短视频 enters a tough stretch of their schedule, playing their next games against three of the top four teams in the ODAC.聽 First up is Guilford this Saturday at 2:00 in Harrisonburg.聽 The Quakers, 4-1 in the league, beat the men 67-64 on Nov. 28 in Greensboro, NC, on a half court three pointer at the buzzer.

Despite being saddled with foul trouble over the first 20 minutes, the men led much of the opening frame.聽 They scored the final five points going into halftime, capped by a (Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams) three pointer, to lead 33-25 at intermission.

Eastern Mennonite scored the first four points in the second for the biggest lead of the night at 37-25.聽 Goucher responded with a 12-2 run, however, to get back within two points and the battle was on.

As the teams went back and forth, (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) drilled a big three pointer to put 91短视频 back up 61-60 with 3:04 to play.聽 After forcing the Gophers into a missed triple, the men came down and Daniel assisted (Capitol Heights, MD/Archbishop Carroll) on another long bomb, blowing the lead to up to 64-60.

Goucher got a single free throw with 1:17 left, but the Royals pushed the edge up to five points when (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) drove to the hoop and dunked the ball.

The Gophers cut the lead to three with a pair of free throws with 40 ticks to go, and the men left the door open when Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw.聽 Goucher got two shots off in the final eight seconds, but neither found the mark as 91短视频 escaped with the win.

Daniel and Sims were a two-headed monster to lead the team.聽 Daniel hit three three-pointers and dropped in 19 points.聽 He added a season high five assists along with five rebounds and three steals.聽 Sims was 8-for-13 from the floor to lead the team with 20 points, a season high for him.

Williams also hit double figures with 10 points.聽 (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) added eight rebounds and three assists.

The Runnin Royals had their best effort of the year from long range, going 8-for-18 for 44%.聽 They shot 28-for-61 overall for 46%, but were limited to 2-for-6 from the free throw line.聽 91短视频 was out-rebounded 37-28, but also forced 21 turnovers for a +4 turnover margin.

91短视频 has a few days off before returning to the court for a sure-to-be-classic game with Randolph-Macon.聽 The men host the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, with a 7:00pm start in Yoder Arena.

Update: After a , the Runnin Royals were 1-2 within the ODAC and 8-4 overall. The team returns to the court after the holiday break on Jan. 5 at Emory & Henry College.

91短视频 men鈥檚 basketball will quickly stop short of directly comparing this year鈥檚 team with his 2009-10 team which made the program鈥檚 only NCAA Tournament appearance.聽 But it鈥檚 hard not to compare them.

In 2009-10, the Runnin Royals returned all five of their starters from a 15-11 campaign and vaulted to the Elite Eight in the national tourney, finishing with a final record of 25-5 and a No. 4 national ranking.聽 This year, Eastern Mennonite returns all five starters from a 12-15 team, and Dean is brimming with optimism.聽 And he will compare that.

鈥淎fter the 15-11 year, going into the next year I thought we were going to be good,鈥� said Dean.聽 鈥淏ut never in my wildest imagination did I see those guys ascending to that level of play.聽 I didn鈥檛 see fourth in the country coming.聽 But to be honest, I鈥檓 just as optimistic now as I was then.聽 Can you catch lightning in a bottle twice?聽 I don鈥檛 know, but it鈥檚 certainly something we鈥檒l strive for.鈥�

The Royals are perfect at 4-0 since beginning the season on Nov. 16.

Women鈥檚 Basketball Hoping To Live Up To Own Expectations

Update: After an exciting , the Lady Royals were 2-1 within the ODAC and 5-4 overall. Play continues through the holiday break as the ladies square off against St. Mary’s College of Maryland on January 2.

Last year a young 91短视频 women鈥檚 basketball team got on a roll and finished with a 22-4 record, tied for second-best in program history.聽 Yet the Royals lost in the ODAC Tournament semifinals and missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

knew he had a talented crew last winter, but with just three upperclassmen on the roster, Griffin didn鈥檛 expect the explosion of wins his team earned.

鈥淚 was very surprised considering how young we were and what we had lost,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淭hings just sort of fell into place.鈥�

This year the eighth-year mentor returns his top six players, including all five starters. 聽Griffin acknowledges that returning core triggers an extra layer of pressure. ()

鈥淚t means that expectations are high from ourselves and from others,鈥� said Griffin.聽 鈥淎nd it means that we do have experience, which is why those expectations are so high.聽 I think everybody expects we鈥檙e going to be good and so there鈥檚 a pressure.聽 Our schedule is a lot tougher this year, but I think that pressure and schedule can be a good motivator.聽 At the end of the day it鈥檚 basketball and we just need to go play, try to improve and see what happens.鈥�

Eastern Mennonite scored first in the game, but made a statement on the defensive end.聽 The men frustrated the Bobcats into a season low 31.7% from the floor and never trailed.

FSU was still within two points at 17-15 midway through the first until the Royals exploded on a quick 9-0 run to blow the game open.聽 The men then scored the final five of the half to lead 45-30 at the break.

The Runnin Royals didn鈥檛 let up in the second and expanded the lead to the final 21-point margin.

All 15 of the 91短视频 men in uniform got to play in the win as they out-shot Frostburg State 48.5% to 31.7%.聽 They also had a hefty 50-39 edge in rebounding.

Junior Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) collected his third double double of the season, finishing with game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds along with two steals.聽 R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly), who has been slowed over the past week with an illness, played a game high 34 minutes and dumped in 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Guard Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, VA/Northside) made his presence felt with a career high seven assists.聽 He also tied his career best with seven rebounds.聽 Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) had ten points and five rebounds.聽 Freshman Corey Sheppard (Richmond, VA/Open) had his best game in an 91短视频 uniform with eight rebounds, two steals and two assists in 18 minutes.

Starting point guard Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) and reserve Josh Mallory (Round Hill, VA/Loudoun Valley) both missed the game because of illness.

The win is the fourth in the last five games for the Runnin Royals, who improve to 6-7.聽 They return to ODAC play for the rest of the season and will try to better their 1-3 league mark Wednesday when they host Randolph-Macon.

Sophomore (Roanoke, VA/Northside) started the game with a steal and lay-up, then 91短视频 used a 6-0 run to push the lead to 8-2.聽 The Hornets got within 10-8 before the Runnin Royals clamped on the defense.聽 Holding SU scoreless for a span of 7:54, Eastern Mennonite inflated the edge to 20-8 and never let it below double digits the rest of the night.

(Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) canned the game’s first three as the first half closed, pushing the lead to 43-17.

Shenandoah never seriously threatened in the second.聽 (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) provided the highlight for the opening night crowd of 745, as he stole the ball and dunked it with 4:13 to play.聽 The two points bumped 91短视频 over the magic threshold of 79, giving everyone in attendance a free cone from Kline’s Dairy Bar.

From there, Coach Kirby Dean flooded the court with his bench players, getting all 15 healthy Royals playing time.聽 Each team scored 44 points in the second as the men rolled to the win.

Dean was pleased with the first 20 minutes of the game.

“I think in the first half we showed how good we can be,” he said afterwards.聽 “In the second half we showed how bad we can be.聽 Now part of that is Shenandoah, because they played better, but our guys need to play with the same intensity from the first half for a full 40 minutes if we want to finish in the top part of the ODAC.”

Thorne led the way on the night, netting 17 points with six rebounds and four steals.聽 (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) notched 16 points to go along with his game high five assists.

Freshman (Madison, VA/Madison) added an efficient 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals off the bench. (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) had 10 points.

The Hornet’s Avery Green led all played with 20 points.

Eastern Mennonite squelched Shenandoah to a 21.9% shooting clip in the decisive first half.聽 The Royals shot 44.7% over the frame and finished 35-74 for 47.3%.聽 SU came in at 35.7%, going 20-56.聽 91短视频 also had a 47-39 edge in rebounds.

Now 1-0, the men head to Arlington this weekend for the Marymount Tip-Off Tournament.聽 The Royals play Springfield Friday at 4:00, and then play either DeSales or host Marymount on Saturday.

Last year Eastern Mennonite finished 22-5 with a starting lineup of five seniors, including ODAC Player of the Year Todd Phillips.聽 Over their four years, the core went 71-38, gathered three of the program’s ten winning campaigns in 45 years, and earned the only trip the men’s team has ever made to the NCAA Championships.

That group is gone, but hopefully has laid a legacy which this year’s men can pick up.聽 As part of that re-tooling process, however, the Runnin Royals must replace 79% of their offense.

“The reality is, those five changed the culture at 91短视频,” Dean said of his departed players, which also includes George Johnson, D.J. Hinson, Orie Pancione and Eli Crawford.聽 “I give them all the credit in the world for what’s happened here.聽 But the good news is that we had some kids who were role players the last year or two who on other teams could have been focal points on the offense.聽 So while we lost a lot we’ve got some guys who can do a lot more than what they’ve done.”

Returning players get a chance to shine

Leading the returners is athletic junior (Front Royal, VA/Skyline).聽 The 6-4 wing shot 51% from the floor last winter, averaging 7.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

“Andrew is in a zone where he wants to be one of the best players in the league, and I think he has that potential,” said Dean.聽 “He’s just been driven.聽 He’s lifting, he running, he’s just doing all the little things.聽 He’s a prime example of someone who’s put things together off the floor as well.聽 With him, the better student he has become the better player he has become.”

Forward (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) is another top returner and the only other returning junior on the roster.聽 Longacre has been nagged by injuries at 91短视频 but averaged 3.2 points and 1.5 rebounds last year.聽 Dean said his 6-6 player just needs to stay on the court.

“His big thing is just staying healthy,” explained 91短视频’s ninth-year coach.聽 “If he just can practice for a month straight and then string things together, he’s got a chance to be a really solid ODAC player.聽 He’s going to do all those things that get you to the winner’s circle.”

Sophomores looking forward to playing time

Four sophomores remain from last year’s touted recruiting class and all of them should compete for regular minutes in 91短视频’s up-tempo system.聽 averaged 4.9 points and 1.7 rebounds while getting a handful of spot starts last year.聽 (Roanoke, VA/Northside) (2.2 PPG), (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) (2.4 RPG, 1.6 PPG) and (Woodbridge, VA/Garfield) (2.2 PPG) all expect to show marked improvement as they get more playing time.

Because of the departed seniors, this year’s newcomers will also get more playing time than in years past.聽 Some of the new faces have more experience than others, however, as three of the ten on the varsity roster transferred to 91短视频 from prep schools or other colleges and two more are local players who return to hoops after time away from the game.

Headlining the class are 6-6 (Madison, VA/Madison/Hargrave Military), 6-6 (Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams/Massanutten Military) and 6-2 (Capitol Heights, MD/Archbishop Carroll).聽 6-7 (Staunton, VA/R.E. Lee/Mary Washington) could also add to the inside game as the Mary Washington transfer learns the 91短视频 system.

Putting the puzzle together

Even with the added height, Dean won’t slow down the style of play which has turned the Royals in the Runnin Royals.

“When you have depth like that,” he said, “if you can get guys to play as hard as they can play then they are going to need to get a rest.聽 But that’s when the other team has the same guy on the floor and getting more worn out.”

91短视频’s coach said the team’s height will add a new dimension this year.

“A key for us is extra possessions,” he explained.聽 “The previous years we’ve done that through turnovers.聽 We’ll still turn some people over, but this year we can also get some of those possessions from offensive rebounds.”

Dean knows that with many of his players finally getting consistent playing time on the collegiate floor there will be growing pains.

“We’re a puzzle that still hasn’t been put together, but has some really nice looking pieces to it,” he said.聽 “I don’t know how good we’ll be in November, but we’ll be so much better in February. 聽So the better we can be in November, the scarier we’ll be in February.聽 We’d be na茂ve to think we’ll be as good as Virginia Wesleyan and Hampden-Sydney at the beginning of the year, but I’m hoping that by tourney time people are looking at the standings and hoping they don’t have to play us in the postseason.”

Exhibition game, season opener, and more info

The Runnin Royals begin that journey at home, taking on Shenandoah on Tuesday, Nov. 15.聽 The men also have a home聽exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 10, where they will play a team of area alumni, including last year’s starters.

Preview the and online, and get connected to the .

The Eastern Mennonite men received four votes in the D3hoops.com national poll, which was released today, effectively putting them in a tie for 51st place in the preseason list. 91短视频 lost all five of their senior starters from last year’s 22-5 squad, which also went to the Elite Eight of the national tournament in 2009-10.

Showing the power of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Virginia Wesleyan was tabbed as the No. 1 team in the country in the preseason poll. VWC finished last year No. 10 in the rankings after losing in the Sweet 16.

Hampden-Sydney was picked No. 23 in the preseason rankings, while Randolph-Macon also received votes, coming in at No. 36.

The official ODAC Preseason Poll will be announced at the league’s media day this Thursday in Salem.

The Runnin Royals start their season at home on Nov. 15 against future ODAC-opponent Shenandoah.

Phillips, the 2011 ODAC Player of the Year, topped Eastern Mennonite with a 18.2 points per game scoring average, as well as 3.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 6.2 free throw attempts per contest. He also grabbed 5.7 rebounds and finished top four in the ODAC in five major categories. The senior was also named All-American by both NABC and D3Hoops.com

In 2010, Phillips was named the VaSID Player of the Year. He also leaves 91短视频 as one of the top players in school history. Phillips set the career steals mark at 188 picks and is one of only two players to finish in the top ten of career points, rebounds and assists. Leonard Dow, 91短视频’s career leader in both scoring and rebounding and member of the Hall of Honor, is the other.

Ferrum College forward Derek Mitchell has been selected as the VaSID’s Player of the Year, Virginia Wesleyan College head coach Dave Macedo named Coach of the Year and VWC freshman guard D.J. Woodmore earned Rookie of the Year honors.

Mitchell, a 6-5 senior forward, earned First Team All-America honors this season from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after a stellar season for the Panthers. He was named USA South Player of the Year, D3Hoops.com South Region Player of the Year and NABC District III Player of the Year.

Mitchell averaged 19.7 points and 13.2 rebounds per game and wrapped up a tremendous career as Ferrum’s all-time leading rebounder and second all-time leading scorer. The Ferrum senior was a 2009-10 All-State Second Team member and the 2007-08 VaSID Rookie of the Year.

The Coach of the Year nod is the fifth honor in last eight seasons for Macedo, who again led one of the top teams in Division III in Virginia Wesleyan. He guided the Marlins to a 25-5 record in 2010-11 and a berth in the NCAA Division III Sweet 16. It was the seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for VWC and the 17th consecutive winning season for Macedo.

The 2010-11 VaSID Rookie of the Year was Woodmore, who was also named the D3Hoops.com National Rookie of the Year as well as to the 2011 DIIINews National All-Freshman Team. He also earned ODAC Rookie of the Year laurels and was tabbed the D3Hoops.com South Region Rookie of the Year as well. Woodmore led the Marlins in made field goals, made three-pointers, free-throw percentage and scoring. He averaged 13.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while knocking down 47.7% of his shots.

2011 VaSID College Division All-State Men’s Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Derek Mitchell, Ferrum
Coach of the Year: Dave Macedo, Virginia Wesleyan
Rookie of the Year: D.J. Woodmore, Virginia Wesleyan

First Team
Harrison George, Hampden-Sydney
Isaih Harrison, Apprentice School
Derek Mitchell, Ferrum
Todd Phillips, Eastern Mennonite
Conley Taylor, Christopher Newport

Second Team
Tevin Andrews, Apprentice School
Spenser Briggs, Southern Virginia
Nate Campbell, Lynchburg
Colton Hunt, Randolph College
Danny Jones, Randolph-Macon

The Royals slid four spots this week after Randolph-Macon beat them 90-79 in the conference semifinals. The Yellow Jackets went on to win the ODAC Championship and moved up to No. 6 in the national poll. Despite also losing in the semifinals, Virginia Wesleyan held at No. 10. The Marlins and R-MC received the only two national bids from the ODAC.

Orie Pancionce helped the 91短视频 men to a 22-5 record and the No. 15 ranking at the completion of the regular season.

Although the D3hoops.com poll has no official bearing on the selection of at-large teams, 91短视频 is the highest ranked team to miss the National Tournament. The NCAA relies on factors such as in-region record, strength of schedule, etc., whereas the poll is a nationwide vote of coaches, sports information directors and media members.

Whitworth regained the poll’s top spot after Williams (now No. 4) lost to Middlebury (now No. 2). 2010 national champ UW-Stevens Point moved up to No. 3 with Wooster rounding out the top five.

R-MC is followed by Augustana, St. Thomas and Amherst.

The Runnin Royals finish the 2010-11 campaign with their second-best record ever at 22-5. The men went 25-5 last year. Eastern Mennonite also finished 12-4 and in third place in the always tough Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

.

91短视频’s move up was actually the first time this year where the men have gained spots in the poll. They started the year at No. 3 in the preseason list.

Orie Pancione is shooting nearly 53% from the floor for the No. 16 Runnin Royals.

Wooster took its first loss of the year to Wabash, and fell to No. 4. The Little Giants, who have also beaten Randolph-Macon this season, moved up two to No. 13.

Whitworth, a team which the Royals beat in the postseason last year, is one of two undefeated teams left and took over the No. 1 spot. It’s the first time in the history of D3hoops.com’s poll that the top-ranked team has been from west of the Rockies. The Pirates are from Spokane, Wash.

Williams and Amherst are second and third this week. Augustana also suffered its first loss and fell two spots to No. 5. Virginia Wesleyan, Middlebury, UW-Steven Point, St. Thomas and UW-River Falls round out the top 10. Randolph-Macon held at No. 11.

As attention starts to turn towards the NCAA’s regional rankings, which are more important when at-large bids are determined for the national tournament, the 91短视频 men have some work to do as they are not ranked in the top eight of the South Region.

VWC and R-MC are one and two. Ferrum, No. 19 in the national poll, was third in the regional rankings last week. Centre was fourth, although the Colonels lost over the weekend. The NCAA regional rankings were released for the first time last Wednesday.

Eastern Mennonite, 16-4 overall and 7-4 in the ODAC, plays at rival Bridgewater College this Wednesday night before hosting Emory & Henry Saturday at 2:00pm. The Runnin Royals then have a big week to wrap up the regular season, hosting both No. 6 Virginia Wesleyan and Washington & Lee and closing at Guilford on Feb. 19.

Phillips continued to be a problem for opposing defenses as he averaged 20.5 points over the two games, connecting on 57% of his shots. The senior forward was also 4-of-10 from three point range.

Phillips put in 22 points in Wednesday’s 88-79 win at Lynchburg as he was 9-18 from the floor. Saturday, despite getting in foul trouble early in the game, he still tied for the team lead in points by halftime and led all scorers with 19 by the end. He dropped in 8-of-12 shots and added six rebounds in the 85-50 defensive thumping of Randolph.

The All-American is second in the ODAC in scoring at 18.8 per game. Phillips is also in the ODAC’s top ten in free throws, free throw percentage, assists, steals and blocks.

The win over Randolph avenged an earlier loss to the WildCats as 91短视频 moved to 7-4 in ODAC play. The men also drew even with both Randolph and Guilford in the loss column.

Eastern Mennonite is at rival Bridgewater this Wednesday night. Game time is 7:00pm.

After the visitors scored the first bucket, the Royals quickly scored the next nine to take over the lead. With the score 13-6, 91短视频 pinned down Randolph and rolled into halftime with a 39-16 lead.

The WildCats connected on only three field goals in the first 20 minutes, shooting just 13.6% from the floor. They didn’t get into double figures until 6:56 remained in the half.

For Eastern Mennonite, team defense defined the period as they forced 13 turnovers. The men played most of the half without Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) who picked up three quick fouls. Five different players had scored six points by halftime.

The second half didn’t have the tension of the first, as the game was never in doubt. 91短视频 led by as many as 45 en route to the 85-50 win.

“That’s what we want to do,” said Coach Kirby Dean. “We want to play with that kind of defensive intensity.”

The Runnin Royals held Randolph to just 27.8% shooting in the game including 4-12 from three point range. The WildCats even struggled from the free throw line, connecting on 16-of-27 for 59%.

91短视频 was 33-66 from the floor including a blazing 12-of-26 in triples. The men were 7-10 from the stripe.

“I’ve been telling the guys from day one that if we come out with that defensive mentality, then we’re really tough to beat,” Dean said afterwards. “If we come out flat, we’re an OK defensive team, but we’re not going to string together many wins. If we play like this we can make a run.”

Phillips was good for 13 points in the second half and finished with a game high 19 along with six rebounds. D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) and R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, Md./Friendly) each hit a trio of three pointers and finished with 12.

Freshman Vance Washington (Winchester, Va./Handley) also canned three triples and tied his career high with 11 points. Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) made his mark on the boards, leading all players with 10 rebounds.

91短视频 didn’t allow any of the WildCats to score in double figures. Leading scorer Colton Hunt was limited to just five points, 11.5 below his season average.

The Runnin Royals have now won three in a row since losing at Randolph on Jan. 22 and are 16-4 overall and 7-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The WildCats fall to 15-6 and 8-4 in the ODAC. 91短视频 is at rival Bridgewater next Wednesday.

91短视频 is 14-4 overall and 5-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The men had a showdown with then-No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan postponed from last Wednesday to Feb. 14 because of snow.

The Marlins edged back up one spot to No. 6 this week, aided by Middlebury taking its first loss and falling four spots to No. 8. The top three in the nation held their spots with No. 1 Wooster being followed by Whitworth and Augustana.

Williams and Amherst round out the top five, followed by VWC, St. Thomas and Middlebury. UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point are No. 9 and No. 10. ODAC-rival Randolph-Macon fell two spots to No. 11 after losing 62-61 Saturday at Guilford.

A fourth ODAC school, Randolph, continued to get a single vote but miss out on the top 25.

The Runnin Royals are at Lynchburg this Wednesday before hosting Randolph Saturday night as part of a men’s/women’s doubleheader in Yoder Arena. The 91短视频 women host Roanoke at 4 p.m. before the men lock up with the WildCats at 7 p.m. Randolph beat 91短视频 64-61 on Jan. 22 in Lynchburg.