HARRISONBURG, Va. --Â The Hornets men's basketball team collected it's third conference win of the season, cruising past Eastern Mennonite on the road, 95-59.
Junior Michael Gray caught fire in the first half, finishing with a season-high 19 points on five made three-pointers. Sophomore forward Jamarcus Brown made his presence known on the interior, tallying 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, accompanied by an impressive plus-minus of +34. Meanwhile, senior guard Piercen Young tied a season-best with 10 rebounds, marking the third time he has reached that total this year.
Gray kick-started the Lynchburg (8-5, 3-1) offense in the opening half, knocking down four triples in under three and a half minutes as part of a 12-5 run that doubled the Hornets' advantage. Lynchburg kept its foot on the gas for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes, shooting 46% from the floor while holding EMU (3-9, 0-3) to nine made shots on a 30% clip.
Coming out of the break, the Hornets continued to let it fly from beyond the arc, cashing in on seven more three-pointers to bring their total to 14, the most made in a single game this season. Jayson Easton and Tobias Labaque each finished with multiple three-pointers, going 3-for-6 and 2-for-2, respectively.
Lynchburg's offense consistently found success near the rim thanks to strong ball movement, primarily from the backcourt tandem of Jake Hart and Jaden Palmore, who each dished out five assists. The Hornets outscored the Royals 38-16 in the paint on the night.
Defensively, the Hornets tied for the fewest made shots allowed in a game this season, holding the Royals to just nine field goals in each half. Brown led the team with three blocks and added two steals as Lynchburg continually disrupted the EMU half-court offense and held the Royals to zero fast-break points.
The Hornets return to the Hill City for their Alumni Day contest against Shenandoah on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 2 p.m.
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--LYN--
