For immediate release - 1/28/09 - #173
Roanoke Holds Off LC Men's Basketball 86-75
SALEM, VA - The Roanoke College men's basketball team held off visiting Lynchburg College 86-75 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest from Salem, VA, on Saturday night.
LC played neck to neck with Roanoke in the first half, only trailing twice in the first 13 minutes of the game. Roanoke tied the game with 7:40 left and built up a seven-point halftime lead as Parrish Walker drained a three at the buzzer. Roanoke led for the entire second half but struggled to put the game away with the Hornets cutting a 13-point deficit to just six with 2:21 left on the clock. Roanoke would eventually close out the game by converting at the free-throw line after Lynchburg was forced to foul the Maroons near the end of the contest.
Steven Echols (Martinsville, VA/Carlisle) led the charge for the Hornets, contributing with 21 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes of action. Jack Burgess (Durham, NC/Cardinal Gibbons) added on a season-high 16 points, KC Mendez (San Antonio, TX/Winston Churchill) tacked on 12 points and five rebounds, and Danny Reed (Adamstown, MD/Tuscarora) posted eight points and eight rebounds.
Roanoke's (16-4/8-3 ODAC) Curtis Peery scored 28 points courtesy of 18 of 21 free throw shooting. Walker scored 15 points and collected six steals while Melvin Felix churned out 12 points. Each team shot a high percentage from the field with the Hornets converting on 46.7% of their attempts and the Maroons making 45.5% of their tries. Roanoke, however, won the game at the charity stripe, making 30 of 40 attempts compared to just 12 of 19 for LC. Lynchburg had a decisive edge on the boards, corralling 36 compared to 29 for RC and the Maroons held an 18-11 advantage in turnovers.
Lynchburg (3-16/1-9 ODAC) will host Eastern Mennonite University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
###
