FERRUM, Virginia -- The Ferrum College men's basketball team used a big second half to top the Wasps of Emory & Henry College inside of Swartz Gymnasium Friday night, 81-78. A 9-0 run to open the closing stanza put the Panthers up for good en route to their 5th Old Dominion Athletic Conference triumph of the season.

RECORDS
Ferrum (6-4, 5-3 ODAC)
Emory & Henry (0-6, 0-6 ODAC)

THE BASICS
Emory & Henry started hot from 3-pt land, but both teams traded buckets down the stretch of the first half. The Wasps led by as much as 9 with 5:01 to go in the half with a Dylan Catron trey, but the Panthers would answer right back with a huge Hunter Ladler three-point play. Ferrum would end the half on a 11-4 run as James Smith Jr. knocked down a three to trim the Wasps lead to 45-43 entering the midway break.

Ferrum would then answer the call in the second half as Kajuan Madden-McAfee knocked down a three to open the half, and the Panthers would not trail the rest of the game. The Madden-McAfee trey sparked a 9-0 run to quickly give Ferrum a 52-45 advantage. Emory & Henry would not let the Panther lead ever get above single digits, but the Wasps were not able to draw even. A 12-4 Emory & Henry run, with a slew of missed Panther free throws, through the final 1:25 would make the game a one possession game, but Madden-McAfee would knock down three of his final four attempts from the charity stripe to ice this one.

Madden-McAfee had a huge game for the Panthers on the offensive side, recording 21 points to go along with seven boards. Carrington Young turned in his best scoring output of the season, including the first eight Ferrum points as he finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Jamar Butler came alive as well for the Panthers with a season-high 14 points. Darius Kemp was held to just five points, but was a force on the glass, chasing down 11 boards.

For the Wasps, Freshman Patrick Antonelli recorded 21 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, including 4-6 from three, to add to his seven rebounds, three dimes and three steals to lead the way. Robert Holliday, Jr. put together 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals and Kevin Grau Rodriguez had a big 17 points off the bench for the Wasps effort.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Madden-McAfee 21 pts, 7 reb; Young 14 pts, 6 reb; Butler 14 pts; Kemp 5 pts, 11 reb
Emory & Henry: Antonelli 21 pts, 7 reb; Rodriguez 17 pts, 4 reb; Holliday Jr. 16 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast

BEHIND THE WHISTLE
"Good team win tonight. I was happy to see some different guys step up and contribute in different ways to a hard fought conference win. It was not perfect down the stretch, but we found a way to win and that's what matters." --Head Coach Tyler Sanborn

UP NEXT
Sanborn's squad will return to Swartz Gymnasium Sunday, February 21 to take on the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan University. The ODAC affair is set for a 5 p.m. tip.