2020 ODAC Basketball Tournament

FERRUM, Va. -- #7 seed Ferrum College survived a thriller in the 2020 Old Dominion Athletic Conference play-in game, beating #10 Emory & Henry College 87-84 at Swartz Gym. The win advances the Panthers to the quarterfinals Friday at the Salem Civic Center.

RECORDS
Ferrum (15-11)
Emory & Henry (7-19)

THE BASICS
Ferrum led 15-5 early in the game, including a three-pointer each from Kajuan Madden-McAfee and Kalip Jones.

The Wasps hung around and eventually closed the gap to 35-34 on Colin Molden's layup with 3:14 left in the first half, but Ferrum used a 10-6 run from there to take a 45-40 lead into the break.

Molden drilled a three-pointer at 15:00 in the second half to give Emory & Henry a 53-52 lead. Ferrum reeled off 11 unanswered points over the next three minutes, including a pair of treys by Madden-McAfee and one by Nick Helton to grab a 63-53 lead at 12:20.

Later in the half, Ferrum led 73-64 on Young's layup with 8:26 left, when the Wasps went on a big 14-3 run to take a 78-76 lead with just over four minutes left to play. The lead see-sawed five times in the next two minutes, with James Smith Jr.'s layup with 44 seconds left in regulation putting Ferrum in front for good at 85-84.

Young sealed the deal with a pair of free throws down the stretch to help the Panthers win in their ODAC Tournament debut.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Young 20 pts, 7 reb; Madden-McAfee 18 pts; Helton 17 pts, 5 3FG; Rashad Reed 10 pts
E&H: Anthony Williams 25 pts; Molden 14 pts; Micah Banks 14 pts; Dylan Catron 12 pts

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Great win for our program. We did not play with the focus defensively that we needed, consistently. We flowed well offensively, but will need a better effort on both sides moving forward in the tournament. I am glad we figured out a way to get it done, it is a monumental win for Ferrum Basketball. We are looking forward to being able to continue our season in Salem on Friday." --Head Coach Tyler Sanborn

NEXT UP
Coach Tyler Sanborn's team will face #2 Virginia Wesleyan University in Friday's ODAC Tournament quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. See the 2020 ODAC Basketball Tournament link above for information on tickets, and links for live stats and video.