For Immediate Release December 1, 1999
Second Half Leads RC to 77-60 Win at E&H
Strickland Scores 23, Phillips 15 in Roanoke's First League Win
Roanoke vs Emory & Henry Box Score
EMORY, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team outscored the Emory & Henry Wasps, 44-27, in the second half to pick up a 77-60 Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball victory on Wednesday night in Emory, VA. The Maroons are now 4-1 overall, and 1-0 in conference play. The Wasps drop to 2-3 and 1-1 in league action. The game was tied at 33 at the half, but Jason Strickland (Charlottesville, VA/Covenant), the Maroons' leading scorer, scored the first nine points of the second half, giving RC a lead it would not relinquish. In all, the junior had 16 points in the second stanza after netting just seven in the first half, as his time was limited because of foul trouble.
Another key to the Roanoke victory was the team's second half defense. The Maroons held the Wasps to just 26 percent shooting in the closing frame, as they forced E&H into 12 second half turnovers. In all, Emory & Henry shot just 31 percent from the floor and did not have a player record double-digit points.
The Maroons held as much as a 10-point lead (26-16) in the first half, but let E&H go on a 17-7 run to close out the period and tie the score at 33 heading into the lockerrooms.
Strickland shot 10-for-15 from the floor and hit three free throws en route to his game-high 23 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had five steals, bringing his team-high total to 20, an average of four per game.
Alex Phillips (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) had a season-high 15 points in the winning effort, going 6-of-7 from the floor and pulling in six boards. Junior Colby Leftwich (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) was another important inside factor for the Maroons, putting in 11 points and corralling a game-best 10 missed shots. Overall, 11 of the 18 Roanoke players that played in the contest made a dent on the scoreboard, including sophomore Cliff Jacobs (Monterey, CA/Oscar F. Smith), who scored eightpoints coming off the bench.
Roanoke will next be in action on Saturday night as they host the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan College, the ODAC's preseason number-two. The game between the Maroons and Marlins is set to begin at 7:00 pm in the C. Homer Bast Center on the campus of Roanoke College.