Well that sucked. Last night after leading most of the game, EMU lost to Lynchburg College 72-70. Reed didn't play as he only practiced Friday having problems with the ankle. Friday morning we had an x-ray taken of said ankle and it seemed to show that he might have cracked it some time ago possibly back on Guam in a league game as I remember. That game he did hurt it worse than usual when he just would roll it. Anyway here's the recap from the URL http://www.emuroyals.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/201501105pj1iv Managed to get the interview posted to Soundcloud. Reed's the one "trying to get healthy." __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The EMU basketball men found out that Lynchburg College has no problem with tight finishes, as the visiting Hornets got a game-winning three pointer with 12.6 seconds left and stole a 72-70 decision Saturday night in Harrisonburg. Conversely, the Runnin Royals only hurt themselves down the stretch, missing their final seven free throw attempts to get saddled with the loss. Missing free throws was the Achilles heel for Eastern Mennonite, as a 3-for-17 effort in the second half erased what had been a 10-point lead over an LC team which is receiving votes in the national poll. The Hornets had their own issues from the stripe, as a miss on the front end of a one-and-one with 3.7 seconds left gave EMU life. But a good-looking three pointer in traffic from Jerome Jones (Charles Town, W.V./Washington) fell short as time expired and snapped the men's four-game winning streak. Both teams settle at 9-4 after the game, including 2-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Hornets broke a three-game skid with the decision. Of their four losses this year, three have come against nationally ranked teams for a combined total of four points. The first half was tight, as neither team led by more than four points over the first 19 minutes. But EMU's freshmen scored the final six points of the period to give the Royals a 35-28 lead at intermission. The momentum carried into the second when Jones opened things up with a three ball to give the men their biggest lead of the night at 38-28. But Lynchburg regrouped and used a 12-2 run over a three-minute span to lock things back up at 52-52. Ryan Yates (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) threw down a thunderous dunk to give the men a 67-66 edge with 3:16 to go, and a free throw from big man David Falk (Madison, Va./Madison County) put the lead at 70-67 with 1:44 left. LC's Omar Kemp made two tosses to slice the lead to one point with 1:25 showing, and the Royals missed two free throws after an offensive rebound on their next possession. Yates gave the men a huge lift when he stole a pass with 30 seconds to go, giving EMU the ball with the one-point edge and the shot clock off. The Hornets fouled senior Marcel Crump (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) with 25.4 left, but he missed both free throws and LC rebounded. The visitors found Zack Burnett open on the left side, and he buried his fourth three pointer of the night to put Lynchburg ahead 72-70 with 12.6 to go. After a timeout, Crump crashed to the hoop and was fouled again, this time with 6.5 left. His first free throw tantalizingly rimmed out, and his second skimmed off as well. Yates nearly grabbed an offensive board but he couldn't get a clean hand on the ball before it trickled out of bounds. The Royals then quickly fouled LC's Austen Arnold, who missed the front end of the bonus giving the Royals one last gasp with three seconds to play. After another timeout, Jones got the ball in front of the scorer's table and pushed past two defenders on the left wing, but his bomb at the buzzer was off target. Free throws were the deciding factor in the game. Lynchburg was only 12-21 from the stripe for 57%, but EMU finished 10-28 for 36%. The men were a frigid 3-17 in the second half. Crump charted a team high 17 points but was just 3-11 from the stripe. Falk notched 14 points and 16 rebounds but was 2-9 in free throws. Jones hit four of the team's six three pointers and scored 12 points with five boards. Yates had five rebounds, including four offensive, to go with four assists. James Williams (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) also had four helpers. Alex Graves was unstoppable, hitting 13-of-16 shots to lead Lynchburg with 26 points. Burnett had 18 points, including the game-winning three ball, to go with three steals. The Royals stay at home for a big rivalry game on Wednesday, hosting Bridgewater College in Yoder Arena. The Eagles (8-5/3-1 ODAC) broke a three-game skid with a 76-75 win over Hampden-Sydney in Bridgewater Saturday afternoon. Coach Kirby Dean talks about the disappointing loss to Lynchburg: