SALEM, Va. – Freshman Aaron Ferguson scored a game-high 23 points and teammate John Shelor added 22 in Emory & Henry College’s 91-81 win over Guilford College in Friday’s Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.
The victory sends the fifth-seeded Wasps (16-11) into Saturday’s (2/27) tourney semifinals for the first time since 2004 where they will play top-seeded Lynchburg College, a 90-67 winner over eighth-seeded Hampden-Sydney College in Friday’s first quarterfinal tilt. Guilford, the tournament’s fourth seed, finishes with a 16-10 record, its 10th-straight winning season.
Emory & Henry shot 51 percent from the game and used the hot shooting to build a 15-point halftime lead. The Quakers didn’t shoot the ball terribly (41.4%), but the Wasps held a commanding eight-rebound advantage and made six first-half three-pointers.
Emory & Henry’s lead grew to 20 points on a Ferguson jumper 57 seconds into the second half. Trailing 52-32, Zachary Houston (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s) and Trever Hyatt (Hiclory, N.C./East Burke) led Guilford on a 26-10 run over the next eight-and-half minutes. Houston scored nine of his career-high 14 points and Hyatt netted eight of his 13 points during the spurt. Will Freeman’s traditional three-point play capped the rally and trimmed Emory & Henry’s lead to 62-58 with 10:41 remaining.
Guilford’s shooting cooled as the Quakers went the next four-and-a-half minutes without a field goal. The Wasps outscored Guilford, 10-1, during that time and rebuilt a 72-59 lead with 6:28 remaining on two Ferguson free throws.
The Quakers kept pressing and turned up the defensive pressure, which led to many of the Wasps’ 19 turnovers in the game. Dominique Henderson’s (Charlotte, N.C./Mallard Creek (Catawba)) jumper made it a two-possession game at 82-76 with 1:38 left, but Emory & Henry’s Ryan Gravley responded with the Wasps’ 12th three-pointer of the night to restore a nine-point lead. Four Alston Thompson (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) free throws got the Quakers to within 85-80 with 53 seconds remaining, but Emory & Henry sealed the win by making six-of-eight free throws in the final minute.
Ferguson collected a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double. Shelor shot six-of-eight from three-point land, had five rebounds and dished out three assists. Clif Conley went three-for-four from long range en route to 17 points off the bench. Gravley finished with nine points and six assists. Brandon Self scored six points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Wasps held a commanding 45-30 rebounding advantage, which marked the fourth time the Quakers were outrebounded this season.
Trevor Mayo’s (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day School) 17 points led five Quakers in double-figure scoring. Carson Long (Pilot Mountain, N.C./East Surry) scored 11 points and Thompson finished with 10. Freeman compiled seven points, a team-high seven rebounds, a block and three steals in his final college game. In addition to his 14 points, Houston contributed six boards, a team-high four assists and two steals.
Emory & Henry vs Guilford
02/26/16 3:15 PM at Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center
EMORY & HENRY 91
GUILFORD 81
EMORY & HENRY (16-11): FERGUSON, Aaron 7-13 9-11 23; SHELOR, John 7-10 2-2 22; CONLEY, Clif 3-5 8-9 17; GRAVLEY, Ryan 2-4 3-4 9; BRANSCOMB, Chase 2-8 4-4 8; SELF, Brandon 3-6 0-1 6; ANZENBERGER, Kevin 1-2 0-0 3; TURNER, Myles 1-3 0-0 2; WYNN, Alic 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26-51 27-33 91.
GUILFORD (16-10): MAYO, Trevor 6-9 4-9 17; HOUSTON, Zachary 6-10 1-2 14; HYATT, Trever 5-13 0-0 13; LONG, Carson 4-8 1-1 11; THOMPSON, Alston 3-7 4-4 10; HENDERSON, Dominique 3-8 2-3 8; FREEMAN, Will 3-10 1-4 7; BEST, Justen 0-0 1-2 1; BRYANT, John 0-3 0-0 0; ROGERS, Jarrod 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-69 14-25 81.
Emory & Henry................. 47 44 - 91 Guilford...................... 32 49 - 81
3-point goals–Emory & Henry 12-21 (SHELOR, John 6-8; CONLEY, Clif 3-4; GRAVLEY, Ryan 2-3; ANZENBERGER, Kevin 1-1; TURNER, Myles 0-1; BRANSCOMB, Chase 0-4), Guilford 7-20 (HYATT, Trever 3-9; LONG, Carson 2-5; MAYO, Trevor 1-1; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-2; HENDERSON, Dominique 0-3).
Fouled out–Emory & Henry-SELF, Brandon, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Emory & Henry 45 (FERGUSON, Aaron 13), Guilford 30 (FREEMAN, Will 7).
Assists–Emory & Henry 17 (GRAVLEY, Ryan 6), Guilford 11 (HOUSTON, Zachary 4).
Total fouls–Emory & Henry 20, Guilford 26.
Technical fouls–Emory & Henry-None, Guilford-TEAM.
A-678
Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal
#5 Emory & Henry advances to play #1 Lynchburg in Saturday’s (2/27) semifinal
#4 Guilford’s season is complete.