For Immediate Release February 19, 2000
Maroons Advance to ODAC Semifinals
Roanoke Dominates EMU, 110-85, Set Conference Scoring Record
Roanoke vs. Eastern Mennonite Box Score
SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men’s basketball team dominated the Eastern Mennonite Royals on Saturday night in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinals with a 110-85 win at the Salem Civic Center. The 110 points the Maroons scored set a new tournament record for points in a game, breaking the old standard of 108. The Maroons, the tournament’s second seed, improve to 21-4 on the season and will play Washington & Lee University on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals. W&L was an upset winner over Bridgewater College on Saturday. Seven Maroons scored in double-figures in the game, marking the first time the Maroons have accomplished that feat since a 128-110 winover Shenandoah during the 1995-96 season. The Maroons led 46-31 at the half, but exploded in the second half, dropping in 64 points, their most points in one half since the win over Shenandoah. In addition to a new conference record for points in a game, the 110 points RC put up on Saturday was a school record for points in the ODAC tournament. The team’s previous high was 107 scored against Emory & Henry two seasons ago.
Brad Dunleavy (Roanoke, VA/William Fleming) led all scorers in Saturday’s win over EMU, dropping in 17 points. He also added a career-high eight assists and four steals as well. Roanoke’s other double-digit scorers in the contest were Paris Butler (14), Jason Strickland (12), Kyle Murphy (11), Colby Leftwich (10), Jamiar Mansel (10), Tom Dettloff (10). Butler continued to feast on the EMU defense, as he hit four more three-pointers on Saturday, giving him 17 against the Royals in three games this season.
On the other end of the floor, the Roanoke defense was as stifling as the offense was potent. The Maroons, led by five steals each from Mansel and Leftwich, stole the ball 20 times in the game, falling just one short of a school record. The Royals committed 30 turnovers in the contest and shot just 40 percent.
Eastern Mennonite took a 2-0 lead and then had the lead at 9-7, but the Maroons went on an 11-0 run in a three minutes stretch, beginning at the 15:03 mark, and never trailed again. The Maroons pushed the lead to 15 at the break, and held as much as a 27-point cushion in the second stanza.
The Maroons will now play Washington & Lee University on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals. The Maroons went 2-0 against the Generals during the regular season this year, winning 69-5 in Salem just last Saturday.