RALEIGH, NC – The William Peace men's basketball team sits all alone atop the USA South standings after taking down Ferrum on senior day, 71-63. The Pacers improve to 13-10 overall with a 9-3 record in conference play, guaranteeing them at least a third place regular season finish.
"It was a great day all around, but it definitely felt different. It was an emotional day, and it's hard to believe we already have seniors," said head coach Claude Shields. "I'm so proud of our guys. We didn't play our best, but we played really, really hard and we played together."
There were 13 ties and 18 lead changes in the game, and neither team led by more than five the entire way until WPU built a nine-point cushion (64-55), capping a 6-0 run with 1:37 to play.
WPU only shot 33.3% (19-of-57) from the field, their second lowest clip of the year, and they went 6-of-22 (27.3%) from beyond the arc, their second lowest output from long-distance this season. However, the Pacers did shoot it better than Ferrum (7-16, 2-10 USAS), who missed all 10 of their three-point attempts.
While WPU didn't shoot it well from deep, they went to the free-throw line 30 times in the second half and made 23 of them. They finished the contest 27-of-34 (79.4%), falling two short of the all-time record for made free-throws set last year against Maryville.
It was a well balanced attack from the Pacers who put six players in double-figures. Ryan Emfinger led the team with 11 points, nine rebounds, an assist and two blocked shots. Chris Thomas also scored 11 to go along with five boards and a steal.
Seniors Bryson Gibson, Shawn Shaffer, and Michael Wolf all scored 10 points apiece. In addition, Gibson chipped in with a pair of assists, Shaffer brought down seven rebounds, and Wolf contributed five rebounds and four assists. Nate Strother registered 10 points and four rebounds.
Jamal Pulled led all scorers and rebounders in the game with a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Pullen also swatted five WPU shots. Alek Ayer added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.
The Pacers will close out the regular season next weekend with games against Averett and Greesboro, the second and third ranked teams in the USA South.
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