HARRISONBURG, Va. – Will Freeman scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half of Guilford College’s 83-78 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win at Eastern Mennonite University Saturday.
The score was tied five times and the lead changed hands 14 times in the tightly contested regular-season finale for both teams. Trever Hyatt’s layup after one of Guilford’s 16 offensive rebounds broke a 77-77 tie with 2:12 remaining and put the Quakers (16-9, 11-5 ODAC) in front for good. The Royals (11-13, 6-10 ODAC) made just one field goal in the final 4:21, a Jerome Jones three-pointer with eight seconds remaining. Guilford sealed the win by making six of eight free throws in the final 1:43.
Hyatt also scored 10 second-half points and finished with 13 points thanks to three three-pointers. Teammate Dominique Henderson also scored 13. Guilford freshmen Carson Long and John Bryant both added 11 points as the Quakers had a season-high five double-figure scorers. Guilford held a decisive 41-25 rebounding edge, which included 16 offensive boards that led to 23 second-chance points. By contrast, Eastern Mennonite had just four offensive rebounds and five second chance points. Freeman paced the Quakers with seven rebounds. Zachary Houston added six boards, plus a game-best seven assists and a steal. Led by Hyatt, Long and Bryant, Guilford’s reserves outscored their counterparts, 42-24.
Eastern Mennonite’s Isaiah Harris-Winn led all scorers with 18 points and four three-pointers. Maleke Jones added 12 points and six assists. Christian Hansen scored 11 off the bench and Xavier McCants netted 10 points.
The Quakers earned the number-four seed and a first-round bye for next week’s ODAC Tournament. Coach Tom Palombo’s team advances to Friday’s tournament quarterfinal round where it plays the winner of Tuesday’s opening-round contest between #12 Shenandoah University and #5 Emory & Henry College at 3:00 p.m. in the Salem (Va.) Civic Center.
Guilford vs Eastern Mennonite
02/20/16 3:00 p.m. at Harrisonburg, VA – Yoder Arena
GUILFORD 83
EASTERN MENNONITE 78
GUILFORD (16-9, 11-5 ODAC): FREEMAN, Will 7-12 0-2 14; HYATT, Trever 5-11 0-0 13; HENDERSON, Dominique 3-8 5-6 13; LONG, Carson 4-9 1-1 11; BRYANT, John 4-5 2-2 11; THOMPSON, Alston 3-6 3-4 9; ROGERS, Jarrod 3-4 1-2 7; MAYO, Trevor 1-6 2-2 4; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-4 1-2 1; BEST, Justen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-66 15-21 83.
EASTERN MENNONITE (11-13, 6-10 ODAC): HARRIS-WINN, Isaiah 5-11 4-4 18; JONES, Maleke 4-8 1-1 12; HANSEN, Christian 5-7 0-0 11; MCCANTS, Xavier 3-4 1-2 10; JONES, Jerome 3-9 0-0 9; LATIMER, RaShawn 4-10 0-0 9; THOMAS, Sammy 3-4 0-2 6; CLOWER, Travis 1-1 1-1 3; CHRISTIAN, Darryl 0-0 0-0 0; DAVIS, Khalil 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 7-10 78.
Guilford...................... 41 42 - 83 Eastern Mennonite............. 38 40 - 78
3-point goals–Guilford 8-20 (HYATT, Trever 3-6; HENDERSON, Dominique 2-6; LONG, Carson 2-4; BRYANT, John 1-1; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1; MAYO, Trevor 0-1; ROGERS, Jarrod 0-1), Eastern Mennonite 15-32 (HARRIS-WINN, Isaiah 4-8; MCCANTS, Xavier 3-3; JONES, Jerome 3-8; JONES, Maleke 3-6; LATIMER, RaShawn 1-4; HANSEN, Christian 1-3).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Eastern Mennonite-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 41 (FREEMAN, Will 7), Eastern Mennonite 25 (THOMAS, Sammy 6).
Assists–Guilford 20 (HOUSTON, Zachary 7), Eastern Mennonite 23 (JONES, Maleke 6).
Total fouls–Guilford 13, Eastern Mennonite 18.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Eastern Mennonite-None.
A-414
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game