Box


Sophomore Jake Davis scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the first half and senior Austin Claunch added 16 points and four assists in helping the No. 13-ranked Emory men's basketball team to an 86-64 victory over Roanoke College.  The victory upped the Eagles' record to 2-0 while the Maroons suffered the setback in their season opener.

Just about everybody got in on Emory's offensive attack this afternoon with 14 of the 17 players taking the court finding their way into the scoring column.  The Eagles ended the game shooting 46 percent from the floor (29-of-63), including 44 percent (11-of-25) from three-point range.  The Maroons hit of 42 percent (24-of-57) of their field goal tries but just 15 percent (2-of-13) from distance.  For the second straight game, the Eagles were sharp from the foul line, hitting 81 percent (17-of-21), while finishing with a 39-35 edge on the glass.

The 6-foot-5 Davis, who logged 22 minutes of action, converted  eight-of-11 from the floor, including both free throw attempts en route to leading the Eagles in scoring for the second straight game.  Claunch was successful on six-of-eight from the field, including two-of-three from beyond the arc.  Rounding out Emory's double-figure scorers was freshman Alex Foster with 11 points on the strength of three-of-six shooting from the floor including a pair of triples.  

Davis was on fire during the opening 20 minutes of play, hitting seven-of-nine from the floor and both of his free throw attempts.  Claunch was perfect from the field, sinking all three of his opportunities, including a pair of three-point tries, and both of his free throw chances.  The pair helped Emory to a 20-9 advantage with 12:40 left in the opening stanza with Davis scoring nine points and Claunch totaling eight.  After a bucket by Roanoke's Ethan Humphries cut Emory's lead to 26-16 with 8:19 remaining in the stanza, an 8-2 Eagle run, sparked by six points from Davis, upped the team's cushion to 34-17 with 4:22 on the clock.  Emory then closed out the final 3:13 of the half on an 8-2 run that pushed its lead to 42-21 at halftime.  Emory shot 48.4 percent (15-31) from the field, including 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from beyond the arc.

Emory continued to dictate the flow of the game during the opening 10 minutes of the second, hitting 13 of its first 21 field goal attempts en route to racing to an insurmountable 78-40 lead with 9:17 left in the contest.  A 29-12 run over a 7:30 span, keyed by a pair of three-point field goals by both senior Alex Gulotta and Florin, were the keys to Emory building the 38-point advantage.  The Eagles would post their biggest lead of the contest at 83-42 following a trey by Foster with 7:46 remaining before head coach Jason Zimmerman emptied the bench for the remainder of the contest.

The Eagles return to action on Tuesday evening (Nov. 22) when it plays at Berry College in an 8:00 p.m. tip.