College Men’s Basketball Final – Shenandoah 56, Guilford 53

WINCHESTER, Va. – Senior Eli McEathron’s three-pointer with six seconds left broke a 51-51 tie and sent Shenandoah University to an improbable 56-53 basketball victory over visiting Guilford College Saturday.

McEathron finished with a career- and game-high 15 points, including two game-icing free throws with two seconds left after two Matt McCarthy two free throws pulled the Quakers back to within one. A McCarthy heave from midcourt hit the back rim at the buzzer. The game featured nine ties and 10 lead changes.

The Quakers (15-6, 8-4 ODAC) lost their second straight game for the first time this season despite holding a 44-37 lead with 11:30 left in regulation. The Hornets (3-18, 2-10 ODAC) rallied and tied the game at 46-46 on a McEathron three-pointer with 6:39 to play.

McEathron made four of five three-pointers, including one with 2:06 left that tied the score at 54-54. He had 11 second-half points and was joined in double-figure points by Xavier Alston, who tallied 12 markers to accompany his six rebounds. Aaron Patterson added nine points and Malcolm Clark had six points and a game-high eight rebounds. Shenandoah won the battle of the boards, 34-33, and held Guilford to 32.2% field-goal shooting.

McCarthy paced the Quakers with 14 points, but managed just four-of-17 shooting from the floor. Jonny Rice was held to eight points on three-for-11 field-goal shooting. Teammate Will Freeman also had eight points, plus five rebounds, off the bench.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers return home to Ragan-Brown Field House Wednesday (2/11) for a 7:00 p.m. contest with Roanoke College.

Guilford vs Shenandoah
02/07/15 2:00 PM at Winchester, VA – Shingleton Gymnasium
At Winchester, VA – Shingleton Gymnasium

SHENANDOAH – 56
GUILFORD – 53

GUILFORD (15-6, 8-4 ODAC): McCARTHY, Matt 4-17 4-4 14; FREEMAN, Will 3-8 2-2 8; RICE, Jonny 3-11 2-3 8; ROHS, Sanders 2-4 0-0 5; HYATT, Trever 2-8 0-0 5; KOPPENHAVER, Will 2-2 0-2 4; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-1 0-0 3; HINTON, Jarred 0-1 2-2 2; JACKSON, Hunter 1-4 0-0 2; GREENE, Cole 1-2 0-0 2; STAVES, Brandon 0-1 0-0 0; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-59 10-13 53.

SHENANDOAH (3-18, 2-10 ODAC): McEATHRON, Eli 4-5 3-4 15; ALSTON, Xavier 5-6 2-2 12; PATTERSON, Aaron 4-9 0-0 9; CLARK, Malcolm 2-8 2-2 6; PITTMAN, Antwan 2-6 0-0 5; MOODY, Walt 1-4 2-2 4; PRESSLEY, Brandon 1-3 1-2 3; MURPH, Kyle 1-1 0-0 2; BRENNAN, Billy 0-1 0-0 0; SORSAIA, Henry 0-1 0-0 0; STEWART, Nik 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 10-12 56.

Guilford......................   29   24  -   53
Shenandoah....................   25   31  -   56

3-point goals–Guilford 5-22 (McCARTHY, Matt 2-11; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-1; ROHS, Sanders 1-3; HYATT, Trever 1-5; JACKSON, Hunter 0-1; GREENE, Cole 0-1), Shenandoah 6-22 (McEATHRON, Eli 4-5; PITTMAN, Antwan 1-3; PATTERSON, Aaron 1-5; MOODY, Walt 0-3; PRESSLEY, Brandon 0-1; SORSAIA, Henry 0-1; STEWART, Nik 0-1; CLARK, Malcolm 0-2; BRENNAN, Billy 0-1).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Shenandoah-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 33 (HOUSTON, Zachary 5; FREEMAN, Will 5), Shenandoah 34 (CLARK, Malcolm 8).
Assists–Guilford 9 (McCARTHY, Matt 3; RICE, Jonny 3), Shenandoah 13 (CLARK, Malcolm 5).
Total fouls–Guilford 12, Shenandoah 12.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Shenandoah-None.
A-378
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game