Men’s Basketball
Three weeks into the 2018-19 season, the men’s basketball team has tallied four wins and three losses, yielding a 2-1 record at home and a 2-2 record on the road. The men’s season began unofficially with a traditional friendly game against its Division 1 Harrisonburg neighbor, James Madison University, an 86-58 loss for the Division 3 Royals.
The first regular season tip-off for the Royals was on the road at Averett on Thursday, Nov. 8, ending in a hard-fought 90-74 EMU victory. Junior center Sammy Thomas was the Royals’ top scorer with 21 points, converting on 7 of 9 field goals and adding seven free throws. Sophomore guard Tim Jones and sophomore forward Dwayne Hill added 18 and 14 points respectively. The Royals followed up their season opener with a 89-73 loss at Mary Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 13, bringing their record to an even 1-1 before a doubleheader EMU Invitational Tip-off weekend. The team put up a fight in their home opener, but ultimately fell by nine points to New Jersey City, ranked 16th in the nation.
The second game of the doubleheader weekend saw a narrow 62-59 win against Mount Aloysius. The men went on to beat Wilson College at home on Nov. 20 in a 92-73 win, led by senior guard Travis Clower’s 31 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Royals’ final two games of November resulted in an 87-72 loss against the undefeated Lynchburg Hornets on November 25 and a 75-68 win at Ferrum on Wednesday night.
Women’s Basketball
After kicking off their season with a win at home, the women’s basketball team has since gone 1-4 in the past 5 games, with three of the four defeats having come down to just five points. Nevertheless, the women’s potential for the rest of the season was demonstrated in the team’s season opener on Nov. 13 against Apprentice School Builders in a dominant 69-41 victory. Senior guard Lindsey Krisak, junior forward Chrissy Delawder, and senior forward Jess Washington each ended the night with scores in the double-digits. Krisak saw the most minutes on the court and led the Royals on offense with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and five assists. Delawder recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, eight of which came on the defensive end of the court. Every Royal saw time on the floor as EMU pulled away down the stretch.
Since the opener, however, the team has fallen short in four of their five contests. In their second game of the season against Widener, the first of two matches at an invitational in Maryland, EMU held a five-point halftime lead but only put five points on the board in the third quarter. Despite a strong performance and a career-high 20 points from sophomore guard Emily McCombs, the Royals were unable to overcome their third quarter woes and fell to Widener, 68-63. Game two of the invitational weekend saw similar results: a 68-61 loss to McDaniel.
Back home, the Royals have continued to struggle to come out on top in close games, with losses to Southern Virginia, 75-70, and Ferrum, 57-52. That all turned around with a 65-64 win against Virginia Wesleyan. Junior forward Chrissy Delawder had yet another strong performance with 12 points and 7 assists. The team plays away at Guilford Dec. 1.
