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.