The Emory University men's basketball team dropped its University Athletic Association opener this afternoon as it came out on the short end of an 81-65 decision at the University of Rochester.  The setback dropped the Eagles' overall mark to 9-3 while the Yellowjackets upped their overall slate to 9-3.

Emory ended the contest shooting 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor, its second-lowest mark of the year, while Rochester finished at 51.9 percent (28-of-54).  The Yellowjackets were effective from three-point range, knocking down 11-of-22 tries compared to the Eagles' 5-of-22.  Emory held a 35-32 edge in the rebounding department and each team finished with 13 turnovers. 

Leading the Emory scoring attack for the third straight game was freshman Jake Davis with 18 points.  The 6-foot-5 Davis converted seven-of-15 from the field, along with all three of his attempts from the charity stripe, en route to his eighth straight double-figure scoring performance and ninth of the year.  Davis also led all players with 10 rebounds and registered his second consecutive double-double.  Junior guard Austin Claunch rounded out the squad's double-figure scorers with 13 points

Emory trailed by a 41-32 margin at halftime as the Yellowjackets connected on 55.6 percent of their field goal attempts including six-of-nine from three-point range. Davis turned in a big opening half of play for Emory, scoring 11 points on four-of-seven field goal shooting.  Claunch contributed six points, sinking three-of-four from the floor.  After a three-pointer by junior Alex Gulotta enabled the Eagles to tie the game at 20-20 with 7:26 left in the stanza, Rochester went on a 10-1 spurt, keyed by seven points from Nate Vernon, to take a 30-21 edge with 5:18 left.   However, the Eagles countered with seven unanswered points, with Davis picking up five in that stretch, to draw to within 30-28.  Emory trailed by a 33-32 count with 2:21 on the clock before Rochester closed out the half on a 8-0 run with Chris Dende and David Gould hitting back-to-back three pointers in that span.

Emory got to within seven points, 45-38, with 16:58 left in the contest following a bucket by Davis, but 10 straight points by the home team, capped by John DiBartolomeo's three-pointer, upped UR's lead to 55-38 with 13:05 left in the game.  DiBartolomeo topped all players with 26 points, 16 coming in the second half.   Five straight points by Emory cut the gap to 12 points with 12:14 on the clock, but that was as close as it would get for the remainder of the contest.

Emory returns to action next Friday (Jan. 14) when it plays at Washington University.