Box

Emory University junior Alex Gulotta scored a career-high 23 points and sophomore Michael Friedberg added 15 in helping the Eagles to a 75-57 win over Averett  in the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational hosted by Guilford College.  With the victory, Emory boosts its mark to 2-0 on the year while Averett falls to 1-2.

Gulotta knocked down eight-of-12 from the field including seven-of-10 from three-point range.  His seven treys tied the second-highest total in school history.  Junior Justin Resnick picked up nine points on the strength of three three-pointers while sophomore Alex Greven also chipped in nine points while leading all players with 10 rebounds.

Emory ended the game shooting 42.4 percent (25-of-59) while the Cougars checked in at 32.3 percent (20-of-62).  The Eagles hit 35.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc (12-of-34), 50 percent in the second half (6-of-12), and finished with a 42-39 edge on the glass.

Emory held a 25-19 lead with 8:12 left in the first stanza, then used a 9-0 run, with Greven scoring five and Friedberg four points to take a 34-19 advantage.  The Cougars cut the gap to seven points with a little less than a minute left before a layup by Greven with 35 seconds on the clock gave the Eagles a 40-31 lead at halftime. 

Averett stayed within striking distance, down just six points with 12:24 left in the contest, before a devastating 12-0 run, sparked by a couple of treys by Gulotta, provided Emory with a 62-44 cushion 9:11 remaining.  The Eagles eventually built a 24-point barrier en route to the victory.  Gulotta totaled 16 points over the final 20 minutes of action, hitting all five of his five goal attempts, including four opportunities from distance.

Emory will play either Guilford or McMurry in the championship of the Invitational on Saturday starting at 5:00 p.m.