For Immediate Release - 12/1/08 - #133
LC Men Lose 89-85 Nail Biter to Eastern Mennonite
HARRISONBURG, VA - The Lynchburg College men's basketball team lost an 89-85 nailbiter to Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opponent Eastern Mennonite University Wednesday night.
LC went into the half down 32-28 but came out in the second stanza ready to fight back as the Hornets secured a 44-43 margin with 15:16 remaining in the game and were fighting back and forth to tie the game at 50-50 with 12:30 left. EMU answered back in impressive fashion by converting on a four-point play to take the lead for good at the 11:07 mark. The Royals' lead ballooned to 10 (74-64) with 4:20 to go in the game, but the Hornets fought back and staged a ferocious comeback, cutting the margin to just two with five seconds left. After a Lynchburg foul, EMU's George Johnson iced the game by converting both free throw attempts to push the lead to four with only two seconds left in the contest to secure the win for the Royals.
LC was fueled by two 22-point scorers in Mason Wooldridge (New Canton, VA/Fork Union) and Steven Echols (Martinsville, VA/Carlisle) as well as a strong game from KC Mendez (San Antonio, TX/Winston Churchill). Wooldridge added 13 rebounds to go along with his 22 points and shot 9-13 from the field in 31 minutes. Echols was 9-14 from the field and tallied eight assists, five steals, and three boards in 27 minutes of court time. Mendez poured in with 16 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting day while also snaring eight caroms in 31 minutes on the hardwood. Danny Reed (Adamstown, MD/Tuscarora) contributed with nine points while Jeff Langrock (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) added nine points and five rebounds.
George Johnson paced the Royals with 27 points, shooting 6-11 overall with 5-10 from three range and 10-10 from the free throw line. DJ Hinson scored 24 points on 6-11 shooting from deep and 8-14 overall.
LC shot a blistering 59.3% for the game - 54.2% in the first half and 62.9% in the second half. Tht 59% is the highest field goal percentage for the Hornets since shooting 68.6% against Emory & Henry College on January 16, 2008.
The Hornnets proved equally as impressive on the glass, holding a comanding 40-26 advantage in rebounds, the highest rebound margin for the program since before the 2002-03 season. EMU shot 47.4% for the game and had 17 turnovers compared to 21 for LC. EMU was 12-27 from three range and LC was 3-11. The Royals also held a signicant advantage at the free throw line, making 23 of 35 free throws comapred to 12 of 20 for the Hornets.
Lynchburg (1-4/1-1 ODAC) returns to the court Saturday at 3 p.m. as Roanoke College comes to town for an ODAC contest.
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