In their first home game of the season, EMU’s Men’s Basketball team picked up a come-from-behind victory in overtime against Messiah University, overcoming a nine point deficit in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter. 

“This was a great win for our team,” said Head Coach Melvin Felix. “We defended home court and we did it in a dog fight of a game,” he added. “Having a win like this one gave us great experience in case that down the road we have another OT game, we know we have been there and we know we can close out the game,” Coach Felix said. 

“I was very confident going into overtime,” said senior forward Aviwe Mahlong, who scored 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. “We started the game off slow but ended it very strong even despite the fact that the score was even,” he added. “Because of our late surge we had all the momentum and I knew the fans would help in getting the overtime win.”

The Royals offense featured a strong paint offense throughout the game that opened up good looks from three, hitting 12 in total, with seven coming in the fourth quarter. “Over the course of the game we were able to create paint touches that created opportunities for our team, this allowed us to have a great team shooting performance,” said Coach Felix. 

“Attacking the rim in the halfcourt as well as in transition was very beneficial for us as a team,” Mahlong said. “We knew their weaknesses and tried to exploit them as much as we could throughout the game.”

In the overtime period, the Royals had a strong defensive showing, only allowing five points, stymying Messiah’s paint offense, and  most of the. Late into the overtime period, with a minute twenty-eight remaining, junior guard Payton Lewis drove to the paint, hit a layup and drew a foul, generating a pop from an already large crowd. “After I got the and-1 I was just thinking that if we get one more stop on defense, then we will pull this win out,” Lewis said. “This win meant a lot for the team’s morale,” he added “and it helped a lot of us get more confidence as a lot of different people stepped up in this game.”

At this current point in the season, the Royals sit at 3-3, and will look to build off of a strong home opening win as they gear towards ODAC play. “What I like most about this team is that we have shown over and over throughout the season that we are going to compete and focus on the process that will give us the best chance to win games,” said Coach Felix. 

“[It was a] great team win in our first home game,” Mahlong said. “Excited about it but we are not satisfied with just one win at home. We are hungry for more.”