It was Rowdy Royals night in Yoder Arena when the Eastern Mennonite Royals took on the Shenandoah Hornets in the ODAC opener. The Royals looked to get off to a great start in conference play. The first half was a rollercoaster for both teams. It was a back-and-forth affair. The Royals got on the board first to break the seal at the start of the game, but the Hornets got their scoring going as well. The Royals controlled the pace, making the Hornets come back and tie it up during the half. At the half, it was a tied score of 38-38 with an impressive half from Shenandoah’s Jaylen Williams, who scored 28 points. 

The Royals would have to look for some adjustments to slow Williams down in the second half. Fifth-year graduate-student Tim Jones got the defensive assignment on Williams in the second half and held him down to just twelve points in the second half. “What helped slow down Jaylen in the second half was knowing where he was on the floor at all times and defending as a unit,” said Jones. 

Along with slowing Williams down, the Royals’ offense got rolling and started to pull away from the Hornets. “The key to getting our offense going in the second half was getting stops on the defensive end, which resulted in easy fast-break layups on the other end. In the half-court, we drove to share which allowed us to get open looks.” Said Jones. 

For the Royals, Junior Mizz Nyagwegwe caught the hot hand and helped on the scoring, hitting some key threes to push the Royals lead. “What I think keyed in on my hot shooting was staying engaged on the bench and seeing what I could take advantage of once I got out there. After that I just trusted the work I’ve put in, and let it fly,” said Nyagwegwe. The Royals would go on to win the game in solid fashion with a final score of 86-72. They were led by Jones with 20 points and Nyagwegwe with 19 points. 

With the win, Head Coach Melvin Felix saw some positive things from the team. “[…] we did a great job of sharing the basketball and getting everyone involved. We also did a good job defending without fouling and finishing defensive possessions with a rebound,” said Felix. There are some things that Felix would like to see improvements going forward. “ […] I would like to see us continue to improve at taking care of the basketball and continue to lower our turnovers per game. In addition, we will continue to work on focusing on the little details and getting better every single day.” 

The Royals will look to continue improving in their upcoming contests.