By Taylor Chitwood, Sports Info. Student Assistant

HARRISONBURG, Virginia -- The Ferrum College men's basketball team overcame a 31-22 halftime deficit to top Eastern Mennonite University on the road inside Yoder Arena Saturday afternoon, 67-64.

RECORDS
Ferrum (13-10, 8-6 ODAC)
Eastern Mennonite (5-18, 3-11 ODAC)

THE BASICS
The Panthers did not score their first field goal until 3:26 into the ball game when Carrington Young found the net with a layup. EMU would then run off a 14-3 run down the stretch of the first half to take the 12-point lead inside the five-minute mark. A Smith Jr. trey would bring the game within nine with 2:04 to play in the opening stanza, and a pair of free throws would keep the nine point deficit as both both team would head to their respective locker rooms at the halftime break.

Smith Jr. led the way in the scoring department for Ferrum with 10 points, including 4-4 from the charity stripe. Rashad Reed would add five points and four rebounds to the Panther effort in the first half. Carrington Young recorded four points and four boards, but would battle foul trouble early. For the Royals, Devin Mosely led the way off the bench, scoring seven points to add to his two rebounds. Tim Jones and Jamel Howard were both close behind, recording five points each for EMU.

The second half saw Ferrum outscore the Royals 45-33, enough to escape Harrisonburg with the win behind two clutch layups from Reed in the final minute of play. The Panthers would open the closing stanza on a 12-4 run to get back in the game. Neither team held an advantage larger than four down the stretch. The two layups in the final minute clinched the win for the Panthers, pushing the win streak to five games for Coach Sanborn's squad.

It was the Reed show for the Panthers in the second half, as he recorded 22 of his game-high 27 points in the deciding half. Kajuan Madden-McAfee added a trio of treys for nine points, and Smith Jr. recorded nine points and two dimes to lead the comeback charge for Ferrum. EMU guard Tim Jones did everything he could to keep the Royals in it, scoring 14 second-half points behind 10-11 from the free throw line to add to his five assists and two steals, but in the end it was not enough.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Reed 27 pts, 7 reb; Smith Jr. 19 pts; Young 5 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast; Plair 4 pts, 8 reb
EMU: Jones 19 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl; Williams 10 pts, 6 reb; Simmons 10 pts, 9 reb

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Gritty win for us on the road. We did not have our best game offensively, but found a way to make enough plays in the second half and down the stretch to hang around. I was proud of the resolve our guys showed, but we have to be better than what we were today." --Head Coach Tyler Sanborn

UP NEXT
Coach Sanborn's squad will be back in action on the road Wednesday, February 19, to take on Old Dominion Athletic Conference foe Randolph College. The game is set for a 5 p.m. tip inside the RAD center in Lynchburg, Va.