MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Emory & Henry University Men's Basketball Team (3-1) made it three consecutive wins Friday evening as the Wasps downed Barton College (0-4) in game one of the Pickle Classic hosted by the University of Mount Olive. E&H established an eight-point halftime lead, and held on in the final seconds to clinch the 85-84 win.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 85, Barton 84
LOCATION – Mount Olive, North Carolina
VENUE – Kornegay Arena
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (3-1, 0-0 SAC); Barton (0-4, 0-0 Carolinas)
How It Happened
- The Wasps started hot for the second time in as many games, as a three from senior guard Yaturi Bolton (Charleston, S.C.) gave them an early 10-4 lead at the first media timeout. Emory & Henry continued to keep the Bulldogs at arm's length and a layup by junior guard Jackson Crawford (Daleville, Va.) pushed their advantage out to double digits at 20-10 with just under 12 minutes left in the opening half. Barton continued to chip away at the deficit and a three by Isaiah Davis cut the margin to five at 28-23 at the 5:10 mark. E&H was solid at the charity stripe down the stretch, and went 5-for-5 over the final two minutes to take a 36-28 lead into the break.
- Emory & Henry continued to knock down shots to begin the second stanza and a made three by freshman guard Melchior Hughes (Geneva, SWITZERLAND) pushed the score out to 47-39, forcing a Barton timeout. The two teams held serve and the score stood at 60-51 midway through the half. Another three from Crawford at the 6:42 mark gave the Wasps their largest lead of the contest at 72-60. Crawford converted a pair of free throws with just under two minutes remaining to make it a 80-71 game and it looked as if E&H would cruise to the win, but the Bulldogs would not go quiet as they rallied for eight-straight points to pull back within just one at 80-79 with 34 ticks left on the clock. Sophomore guard Sam Ritchie (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) came up huge for the visitors from Emory as he drilled a three with seven seconds left to give the Wasps some breathing room. Barton responded immediately with a three of their own with three seconds remaining, but junior guard Jaden Andrew (St. John's, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA) calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to make the margin three once more. Trey Fields made a layup at the buzzer, but it was not enough as Emory & Henry escaped with the 85-84 victory.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Crawford was the offensive catalyst for the Wasps as he tallied a game-high 24 points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal. Sophomore guard Korbin Dixon (Milton, Ontario, CANADA) went for 15 points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal while Hughes added 10 points, two rebounds, two steals and a pair of helpers.
- Ritchie finished with eight points and a rebound in the win, while Andrew contributed nine points, six assists, five boards, five steals and a blocked shot.
Barton Individual Leaders
- Jaylen Faber paced the Bulldogs with 19 points and three assists. Christian Taylor recorded 17 points, three rebounds and a steal off of the bench for Barton.
- Trevur Smalls registered 13 points, six boards, one assist, one steal and a block, but turned the basketball over eight times in the loss.
A Deeper Look
- The Wasps went 26-for-59 (44.1%) from the field while the Bulldogs shot 50.0% (25-for-50). E&H knocked down 10 shots (33.3%) from beyond the three-point arc compared to eight (50.0%) for Barton.
- Barton outrebounded Emory & Henry by a 34-29 margin, but the teams were even at 30 points in the paint each.
- BC committed 21 turnovers that E&H converted into 23 points, while the Wasps turned over the basketball 12 times for 15 points for the Bulldogs.
- Both teams were solid at the free throw line as Emory & Henry was 23-for-29 (79.3%) from the charity stripe compared to 89.7% (26-for-29) for Barton.
- The Barton bench outscored the Emory & Henry reserves by a 31-23 margin.
- The entire game saw no ties and just two lead changes.
Up Next
- The Wasps wrap up competition at the Mount Olive Pickle Classic on Saturday when they take on the host Trojans. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Kornegay Arena.
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