So here's your report on the Christmas Road Trip. 12 hours down and 12 hours back. Reed was with Jade the whole time and I have no idea what they did but he was at her parent's house. I took off and had a great time with old friends throughout Florida and we got back Sunday night. Here's the rest of Reed's playing time at the Rotary Tournament in Frederick MD.

OK so the weekend was fun as EMU won the Rotary Tournament at Hood College in Frederick MD. They beat Piedmont College 69-66 on Sat, a game they didn't pay particularly well but Reed did well. And then on Sunday they beat Frostburg State 77-68 in a game that Reed didn't play so well but the team did great. After the games Reed and I headed to Florida for girlfriend Jade's house in Jacksonville for some warmer temps and R&R. Here's the tourney team picture with Reed on his way to picking his nose. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ And then here's the play by play of perhaps Reed's greatest minute of college basketball. I'll post the video here after we get home and I get it edited. ------- And here it is. Decided not to add the other clips. They weren't that long and why spoil this one. White #0

EMU played Virginia University of Lynchburg and won 76-69. Not a very good game as both sides had lots of turnovers. It did get better but after the first 4 minutes of the game the score was 1-0. Coach Kirby Dean had some interesting things to say here: http://www.emuroyals.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/videos/MVI_4458-1- ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reed got in for 2-3 minutes and had 2 points. White #0. EMU's basketball men did enough to get the win Tuesday night at home, getting past the Virginia University of Lynchburg by a final of 76-69. The Runnin Royals improve to 6-3 in their final home game of the first half of the season. They head to Frederick, Md., this weekend for a tournament hosted by Hood College. The men play at 6:00pm on Saturday, taking on Piedmont College. Note the corrected start time, which is earlier than previously listed. The Royals will play either Frostburg State or the host Blazers on Sunday. It was a cold start against the Dragon, now 1-12, in Tuesday night's win. David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) hit a single free throw 38 seconds in but then neither team scored until the 15:51 mark. VUL had their biggest lead at five points, and the Royals returned fire and grabbed a seven-point lead. Two more free throws from Falk eventually got Eastern Mennonite to their biggest lead of the night at 34-24 with 1:14 left in the half. But the Dragon scored the final six points of the half to get within 34-30 at the break. After VUL locked up the score at 34-34 early in the second, the Royals rattled off a 14-4 run to go back up by 10 points at 48-38. But EMU couldn't build any momentum and watched as their visitors again came back and tied the score at 59-59. The men finally got a handful of defensive stands to trigger a 9-0 run, vaulting them back in front at 72-65 with 2:47 to go. The Dragon got within three points, before Falk landed the knockout blow on a massive alley-oop dunk from James Williams (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) with 36 seconds left. Williams added a pair of free throws for the final 76-69 margin. EMU set a new season high by shooting 54.7% from the floor. They also had a season high 22 turnovers with a -12 turnover margin. VUL shot just 37.8%, but had 16 offensive boards, as the turnovers and second chance points helped them stay in the game. Falk was good for his fifth straight double double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) also hit for a double double, totaling 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Williams had one of his best games of the season with 12 points and a career best seven assists. Woody Furbush (Bridgeton, N.J./Salem) gave a great effort of the bench with 10 points and three offensive rebounds. Hakeem Anthony led VUL with 24 points and three assists.

Another 1 point loss for EMU this afternoon 91-90. Here's the recap------------------------------In a game crowded with 15 ties and 22 lead changes, the difference came down to a single rebound in the final minute, as Greensboro College snuck by the Runnin Royals by a final of 92-91 Saturday afternoon in Bridgewater. EMU finished 1-1 at the Don Glick Classic, playing two eerily similar games as they move to 5-3 on the year. Eastern Mennonite led by as many as seven in the first half at 24-17, but the Pride, now 4-4, were up at halftime, 45-43. The second half became a contest of individual possessions and foul shooting, as a total of 19 fouls were called by the midway point. The fouls eventually slowed down but the scoring didn't as the teams were locked at 80-80 with 6:30 yet to play. The score was still tied when Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) hit one of two free throws with 1:10 to go, making it 88-88. Needing a defensive stand, the Royals got the missed shot they needed when a Pride three pointer was off target, but the men couldn't grab the loose ball for a rebound. Greensboro repeatedly found an offensive board, only to miss an inside look. Finally on their third such attempt, GC got the go-ahead bucket from Parris Scales with 36 seconds left. After scoring with ease for much of the game, Eastern Mennonite struggled to find an open look when they needed it. Jerome Jones (Charles, Town, W.V./Washington) came up short on a three pointer and the ball fell out of bounds to Greensboro with 16 ticks to go. A quick foul and two free throws from Devan Gregory put the Pride up 92-88 with 14.4 remaining, but GC disrupted the Royals' offense enough to where they couldn't get up a shot until Jones drilled a three with 1.6 showing. The men couldn't force a turnover, and Greensboro wasted away the final time for the one-point decision. Eastern Mennonite shot a season-high 52.8%, including 8-for-16 from three point range, and attempted a whopping 41 free throws, going 27-41. The Pride hit 45.3% of their attempts and were 16-19 from the stripe. The biggest difference came in turnovers, where the men had a -6 margin at 15-9. Greensboro had an 18-9 edge in points off of turnovers. The Royals had very similar stats in Friday's 88-83 win over Milligan, but had a smaller turnover margin at -2, with points off of turnovers being even at 20-20. Crump led EMU with 19 points, his second-high total of the year, but also had six turnovers. David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) collected 12 rebounds and 10 points, as both players were named to the All-Tournament Team. Crump averaged 18.0 at the Classic, including 12-17 free throws. Falk was good for 15.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over the weekend. Freshman Blake Steele (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) had his first double digit effort with 17 points, including 11 in the first half when Falk was saddled with early foul trouble. Jones finished with 13 points. Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) had eight points, five rebounds and three assists, but he missed the final 1:10 with an injury. Gregory finished with a game high 27 for Greensboro. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team as he added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Scales came in with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Royals return home Tuesday for their final contest in Yoder Arena before Christmas. They host Virginia University of Lynchburg that night at 7:00pm, before wrapping up at a tournament in Frederick, Md., over the weekend.

Managed to get in 18 holes today before Reed's game. They beat Milligan College, an NAIA school, 88-83. Reed got in for 4 minutes and you can see it below. White #0 EMU's offense was in high gear despite being off for the week due to final exams, as the basketball men shot nearly 53% from the floor and got past Milligan College 88-83 at the Don Glick Classic in Bridgewater. Eastern Mennonite held of a second-half comeback by the Buffaloes and scored the final four points of the game, all on free throws. The Royals, now 5-2 after the win over the quality NAIA team, return to the court Saturday afternoon in Bridgewater, playing Greensboro at 2:00pm. Milligan, who received votes in the NAIA National Poll this week, slips to 10-3 and will play the host Eagles at 4:00pm. Admission to the Don Glick Classic is free with the donation of a canned food item. Eastern Mennonite and Milligan were locked in a tight first half until Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T. C. Williams) kick-started a late run which put the Royals up 40-32 at halftime. The senior scored 11 points, including nine in a row, in an 18-10 run which broke a 22-all tie. But led by Mickey Woods, the Buffaloes came stampeding back in the second. At one point he hit back-to-back three pointers near the end of a 25-16 run, which gave Milligan a 57-56 lead just six minutes into the final frame. The Tennessee team had their biggest lead at 74-68 after a James Songster three ball with 7:22 to play. The Royals took over from there. The men held their opponents scoreless for nearly four minutes, scoring nine unanswered during the stretch. Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) capped the surge with a three-point play, putting EMU in front 77-74 with 4:09 to go. Woods hit another three pointer to tie things back up. Yates converted a three-point play of his own to give the men a little breathing room at 82-79 with 2:40 left, but the teams continued trading points. Morgan McLeod hit a jumper to pull the Buffaloes back within one with 1:39 to go, as EMU led 84-83. Both teams came up empty on their next possessions, but Crump rebounded his own missed shot with 34 seconds remaining to keep the Royals in charge. A quick foul put Jerome Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) at the line, and the freshman hit both free throws to push the edge to three. Woods missed a three ball and David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) essentially sealed it by grabbing the rebound, getting fouled and then hitting both free throws with eight seconds left. Milligan missed a quick three and let Jones run out the time as he grabbed the final rebound. Although EMU struggled to slow down the Buffaloes, they out-shot them 52.6% to 45.2%. Milligan his eight three pointers, but the men repeatedly got to the foul line to keep the edge. They were 24-40 from the stripe compared to 19-29 for MC. Yates finished off a multi-faceted night with 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists. Falk hit a double double with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Crump added 17 counters. Jones scored nine in his second-straight start while James Williams (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) added four assists. Woods led all players with 31 points, including 6-of-9 shooting from outside. Julian Bailey had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.

Not much going on this week but I did get Reed to rehab for his neck a couple times and he promptly sprained his ankle at his practice on Monday. Not bad though. I did get my copy of Sports Legends of Micronesia from and by Dr. Kurt Barnes. Here's the cover and my page.

Interesting game against Roanoke College yesterday as they won the first half by 20 and EMU won the second half by 19. Reed did not play. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A huge second half rally couldn't erase the damage done in the first half, as EMU's basketball men lost 81-80 at Roanoke Saturday afternoon. The Runnin Royals out-scored their hosts 48-29 in the second, and had a chance to win it with the final possession, but they fall to 4-2 with the loss. Four of EMU's six games this year have been decided by two points or less, including three holding a margin of one point. The largest margin in any game has been six points from the season-opening 80-74 win over Ferrum. RaShawn Latimer (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run) opened the scoring with a three pointer, and the men held a small edge over the first few minutes. But a 12-0 run by Roanoke vaulted them to a 16-7 lead which they never relinquished. The Maroons led 52-32 at halftime, and scored the first four of second for their biggest lead at 56-32. EMU started marching back from there, reversing all the turnover, shooting and defensive problems from the first half. Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) hit a layup with 7:34 to go, getting the men back within single digits at 66-58. An offensive putback from Yates made it single possession game at 81-78 with 1:03 to go. After an RC miss, Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) hit a pair of free throws with 50 seconds left to get the men within 81-80. A defensive stand gave the Royals the ball back with the shot clock off, but Yates missed a three pointer with five seconds left. After a quick foul, the Maroons missed the front end of a one-and-one, but David Falk's (Madison, Va./Madison County) full court shot at the buzzer bounced off the backboard and the rim as the comeback fell short. Despite the massive second-half effort, EMU was out-shot 44% to 41% in the game. They did have a slight 44-41 rebounding edge. Yates finished with a game high 22 points along with six rebounds. Crump had 15 points and seven boards. Falk notched his third double double of the season with 13 rebounds, 10 points and four blocked shots. Andrew Daniels led a balanced Roanoke attack with 15 points and four assists. Cameron Smith had 13 and 11 rebounds. The Royals return to action next Friday at the Don Glick Classic hosted by Bridgewater College. EMU takes on Milligan, a 10-2 NAIA program from Tennessee, Friday at 6:00pm. Saturday the men get Greensboro College at 2:00pm. Fans can get free admission to either of the games by donating a canned food item to the local food pantry at the game.

EMU lucked out tonight and beat Washington and Lee 78-77. Reed got in for 4 minutes in the first half and had a rebound and a blocked shot. I got video of him rather than the game. White #0.

And back to golf. Snow was gone. 18 holes and neck wasn't too sore.