EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry University Men's Basketball Team (16-12, 11-11 SAC) wrapped up the 2025-26 regular season with a South Atlantic Conference win over Coker University (4-24, 3-19 SAC) Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Wasps finished in seventh place in the SAC and have qualified for the SAC Conference Tournament this upcoming week. E&H honored the senior class of Yaturi Bolton (Charleston, S.C.), Omari Curley (Prince George, Va.) and Assad Madassalia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) prior to the contest. The 16 regular season wins for the Wasps are the most for the program since the 2018-19 season, and the 11 conference wins are the most for E&H since the 2017-18 season when the Wasps won the ODAC Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 78, Coker 63
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Bob Johnson Court at the John Rutledge King Center
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (16-12, 11-11 SAC); Coker (4-24, 3-19 SAC)
How It Happened
- Both teams struggled to score to begin the game and things stood all square at 9-9 at the 12:26 mark of the first half. The Wasps pushed their lead out to 15-11, but Coker responded with five consecutive points to take a narrow 16-15 advantage. The squads went back-and-forth down the stretch of the stanza and the score was knotted once more at 26-26 with 1:29 to play. The Wasps finished the half on a 6-0 run to take the 32-26 margin into the halftime break.
- Emory & Henry managed to create some breathing room to start the second as they pushed their lead out to eight points at 42-34 in the first four minutes of action. Coker reduced the deficit to four points, but E&H ballooned the margin back out to eight at 50-42 with 13 minutes showing on the clock. A dunk from sophomore guard Korbin Dixon (Milton, Ontario, CANADA) pushed the Wasps lead over the double digits mark for the first time at 57-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining. Emory & Henry continued to keep its foot on the gas pedal and saw the margin reach its largest of the game at 75-59 on a three from junior guard Jackson Crawford (Daleville, Va.) with just under four minutes left. Freshman forward Donnie Morris (Tampa, Fla.) put the icing on the cake with a layup in the dying moments as the Wasps cruised to the 78-63 victory.
Emory & Henry Leaders
- Dixon led the Wasps with a game-high 25 points, three assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals. Crawford collected 20 points, four boards, two assists and a steal in the win.
- Junior forward Jalen Smith (San Antonio, Texas) finished with nine points, four boards, three steals and an assist while freshman guard Melchior Hughes (Geneva, SWITZERLAND) added six points, four rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Coker Individual Leaders
- Aaron Hall paced Coker with 12 points, five rebounds and a trio of helpers while Matt Knafelz went for 11 points and five rebounds.
- Xavier Moultrie posted 10 points, three rebounds and a steal while Predrag Panisic had 10 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot exactly 50.0% (28-for-56) from the floor and 27.3% (9-for-33) from long range. The Wasps were 13-for-20 (65.0%) at the free throw line.
- Coker was 20-for-49 (40.8%) overall and a paltry 3-for-18 (16.7%) from beyond the three-point arc. The Cobras knocked down 20 of their 21 attempts (95.2%) at the charity stripe.
- E&H held a narrow 30-29 advantage on the glass and put up five second chance points compared to four for Coker.
- The Wasps put up 38 points in the paint while the Cobras managed 34.
- Emory & Henry got out in transition as they scored 17 points on the fastbreak while the visitors could manage just one.
- E&H forced 16 Coker turnovers for 23 points while CU made the Wasps turn the ball over on just 10 occasions for 13 points.
- Emory & Henry led for 33:53 of the contest while CU held the lead for just 1:19.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry enters postseason play on Wednesday, March 4 when they take on the #2 seed Lenoir-Rhyne in the first round of the SAC Tournament. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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