Strong Second Half Leads Emory Oxford to Road Victory

Griffin, GA - Using a barrage of three-pointers and good defense, the Emory Oxford men's basketball team defeated the Tigers of Southern Crescent Technical College 54-43. The Eagles improve to 4-1 in the season, while the Tigers drop to 0-3. 

The Eagles were led by sophomore Nick Nist, who scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Classmate Wesley Yamada came off the bench and provided some much-needed scoring with 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Freshman Sean Osei scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds. Fellow first-year KJ Walker had 7 points, six rebounds and led the Eagles in assists with 5. 

In the first half, the Tigers were held to 25 points, but Emory Oxford struggled to find some offense. The Eagles were 0-of-6 from behind the arc. They went into the break only down by five. 

In the second half, the Eagles used two 3-point baskets from Walker and one from Osei to cut the lead down to two. Two free throws from Nist tied the game at 31 apiece. Emory Oxford took the lead following a three-pointer from freshman Nick Hardin. This sparked a 14-6 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers by Yamada. With 2:23 left in the clock, Osei drove into the lane and was fouled while making a tough lay-up. He hit the free-throw, which brought the Eagles to their largest lead of the game at 12. 

One of the main keys to the Eagles' victory was their defense. They had a season-high five blocks, including two each from freshmen Isaac Snyder and Justin Whitening. The Eagles also forced twelve steals and held the Tigers to 1-of-15 shooting from three.

"This was a good road win for us," mentioned CoachRoderick Stubbs. "We did not play well offensively in the first half, but our players played very good defense and then we found our groove in the second half." 

The Eagles will be back on the road playing Florida Gateway College in Lake City, FL. The game is scheduled for Saturday (Nov. 13) for a 2:00 PM start.