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The Emory men's basketball team battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit but came up short against Maryville College Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the GABCA Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.  Maryville upped its record to 5-0 following a 75-64 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 2-1.  Serving as the host of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is LaGrange College.

The Scots finished the contest shooting 50 percent from the floor (28-of-56) while Emory posted a 44.6 percent effort (25-of-56).  Emory enjoyed a 35-31 advantage in the rebounding department and was led in that department by senior Chad Hixon who came up with eight boards.  A key factor in the Scots' triumph was three-point shooting as they knocked down 10-of-19 from beyond the arc compared to Emory's three treys.

Emory led by a 15-9 margin with 12:35 left in the first half but Maryville went on 17-3 scoring burst, sparked by three three-pointers to take a 26-18 lead with 5:45 left.  The Scots would go into intermission with a 29-22 margin after the opening 20 minutes of play.

Maryville built a 10-point lead, 36-26, two minutes into the second stanza but five points by junior Julien Williams helped Emory to a 9-0 run that cut the gap to one point with 15:31 on the clock.  The Eagles eventually tied the game five times from the 11:12 to 6:47 marks, the final time at 51-51 following a free throw by Hixon. The Scots went ahead for good, 54-51, with 6:26 remaining following a trey by Eryk Watson, one of three that he drained during the afternoon. Watson's three-pointer got the Scots rolling on a 21-8 sprint that gave them a 72-59 lead with 1:12 remaining. 

Leading the Emory scoring attack was sophomore Austin Claunch with 18 points, knocking down eight-of-11 from the floor.  Freshman Alex Greven rounded out the Eagles' double-figure scorers with 10 points.

Emory returns to action on Sunday when it meets LaGrange in a 4:00 p.m. contest.