Adam Burroughs set a career high with seven rebounds while tying a career best with seven assists as the Runnin' Royals defeated Frostburg State, 80-59, Monday afternoon. Photo by Wayne Gehman.

EMU Men Run by Frostburg State, 80-59

Despite having a number of players affected by an illness, the Runnin Royals took care of business Monday in a matinee at Frostburg State, running away with an 80-59 non-conference win.

Eastern Mennonite scored first in the game, but made a statement on the defensive end.  The men frustrated the Bobcats into a season low 31.7% from the floor and never trailed.

FSU was still within two points at 17-15 midway through the first until the Royals exploded on a quick 9-0 run to blow the game open.  The men then scored the final five of the half to lead 45-30 at the break.

The Runnin Royals didn’t let up in the second and expanded the lead to the final 21-point margin.

All 15 of the EMU men in uniform got to play in the win as they out-shot Frostburg State 48.5% to 31.7%.  They also had a hefty 50-39 edge in rebounding.

Junior Andrew Thorne (Front Royal, VA/Skyline) collected his third double double of the season, finishing with game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds along with two steals.  R.J. Sims (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly), who has been slowed over the past week with an illness, played a game high 34 minutes and dumped in 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Guard Adam Burroughs (Roanoke, VA/Northside) made his presence felt with a career high seven assists.  He also tied his career best with seven rebounds.  Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) had ten points and five rebounds.  Freshman Corey Sheppard (Richmond, VA/Open) had his best game in an EMU uniform with eight rebounds, two steals and two assists in 18 minutes.

Starting point guard Dajon Daniel (Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) and reserve Josh Mallory (Round Hill, VA/Loudoun Valley) both missed the game because of illness.

The win is the fourth in the last five games for the Runnin Royals, who improve to 6-7.  They return to ODAC play for the rest of the season and will try to better their 1-3 league mark Wednesday when they host Randolph-Macon.