Wasps Fall Short in ODAC Thriller

EMORY, Va. – Emory & Henry basketball coach Paul Russo paced up and down the sideline. He experimented with different lineups and strategies. He even burned three timeouts in the first half.

After an anxiety-filled 40 minutes, Russo walked off Bob Johnson Court shaking his head in frustration. Despite a torrid second-half rally, the Wasps dropped to 2-16 Saturday with a 96-91 loss to Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Lynchburg.

The Wasps opened the preseason with 19 players, including several prized recruits. Then the dark clouds began to form.

“I don’t know how anybody could have prepared me for this,” Russo said. “To say it’s been a challenge is an understatement.”

Over the first couple weeks of practice, two starters suffered season-ending injuries in 6-6 senior center Josh Brown (shoulder) and 5-11 sophomore Mike McCown (ruptured Achilles tendon). Two freshmen left the team for personal reasons, and 6-4 freshman Kyle Sensabaugh was forced to take a medical redshirt after developing a stress fracture.

Just 11 players were in uniform for the Wasps Saturday. The E&H roster includes eight freshmen. “I can’t tell you how many times that adversity has smacked us in the face this year,” Russo said. “Nobody realizes all we’ve been through, but we will never use injuries as an excuse.”

Russo had a long and emotional talk with his players after the latest setback.

“There are some powerful lessons being learned right now with our guys,” Russo said. “When I see tears and realize how much our players are emotionally invested in this team, then I know that things will turn.”

The Wasps appeared ready to record their first ODAC win Saturday. After falling behind 62-43 at haltime, E&H closed to within 84-82 with 5:15 left in the game behind the play of senior point guard J.D. Dyson (18 points, 7 assists), 6-5 junior Terrance Grigg (28 points) and 6-5 freshman Jordan Short (22 points).

According to Dyson, the Wasps drew inspiration from their halftime chat with exasperated Russo.

“Coach just pretty much told us that [Lynchburg] is not 19 points better,” Dyson said. “We played amazing in the second half, but we just have to come out better prepared. This is a tough loss to bounce back from.”

Standing among his somber teammates, Dyson expressed the frustration that has been steadily mounting among the Wasps.

“It’s hard,” Dyson said. “I’m a senior and I know that my time here is almost up. I’m trying to stay strong for everybody else, but it’s killing me inside. I’ve been talking to my family, praying and just trying to stay positive. It’s hard, but I’m never going to quit.”

Lynchburg opened a 54-30 lead behind the uncanny shooting of 5-foot-10 senior guard Steven Echols. Echols, who played for University of Maryland guard Jeff Adkins at the Carlisle School in Martinsville, Va., scored 24 points in the first half and finished with 36.

“This is a shooter’s gym, and I was just shooting the shots with confidence,” said Echols, who turned down several scholarship offers to attend Lynchburg.

The Hornets (8-9, 3-5) placed five players in double figures and outrebounded E&H, 42-29. However, the undersized Wasps kept charging in the second half behind the dynamic floor leader.

“[Dyson] is probably the faster player in the conference,” Echols said. “He’s hard to guard.

“Emory is a good team. They can shoot it, and they started knocking down some threes and went on a run in the second half.”

It was a painfully familiar finish for the E&H coach

“It’s been happening all year,” Russo said. “We just put one good half together. We’ve lost so many close games.”

There have been no breaks for E&H in the ODAC, which features four teams ranked among the top 10 in various NCAA Division III polls.

“The ODAC is as strong as it’s ever been, and we just finished playing three of those [ranked] teams,” Russo said. “I was a little concerned about our confidence. It’s hard to give the same effort and not hang your head when you’ve just had your butt kicked by a top 10-team.”

Russo stressed the same mantra to his players throughout Saturday’s game.

“The success of this program has always been based of effort,” Russo said. “As long as I feel that our guys are giving the right effort, then I don’t care if we lose every game. People may think I am crazy for saying that, but I’m okay as long as guys are giving the effort. And things will turn around for us because of great effort. I promise you that.”

Long after Saturday’s loss, the 28-year-old Russo looked around the former office of his late mentor, Bob Johnson. He offered another promise.

“It’s been one thing after another this season,” Russo said. “But if this is a quiz by Coach Johnson, we’re gonna pass and come out better for it.”