On a night that saw senior guard Austin Claunch become Emory's all-time leader in assists, sophomore Jake Davis totaled a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds in helping the Eagles to a 107-89 victory over LaGrange College at the Maryville College Classic.  The victory boosted Emory's record to 4-0 while LaGrange slipped to 2-3.

Davis ended the game shooting 14-of-18 from the floor and five-of-eight from the charity stripe in pacing the squad in scoring for the fourth straight game.  His field goal total tied the fifth-highest game effort in school history while his 33 points tied for the eighth-highest individual total in school annals, and the most recorded during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach. His 10 boards were a season high and helped him chalk up his fourth career double-double.    

In addition to taking over the top spot on the school's career ladder in assists, Claunch totaled a season high 20 points, sinking seven-of-10 from the field, including a pair of three-point field goals, and converting all four of his free throw opportunities.   Claunch, who entered the contest needing six assists to surpass Paul Schuliger's mark of 421, came through with the record maker with 15:29 left in the game when he assisted on Michael Friedberg's layup that gave Emory a 77-64 lead.  He scored 14 points of his game total during the second half of play, hitting all six field goal attempts in the stanza en route to his eighth career contest of 20 or more points.   

Also notching double-figure scoring were junior Michael Friedberg and freshman Alex Foster with 11 points apiece. 

Emory shot 54.4 percent (37-of-68) from the floor in the game, 64.5 percent (20-of-31) in the second half.  The Eagles knocked down 38.5 percent of their three-point field goal opportunities (10-of-26), with the 10 triples the third straight game of double digits in that category.  Emory posted a 40-33 advantage in rebounding, 21-10 over the final 20 minutes of play.

Buoyed by 11-of-14 field goal shooting to start the second half, the Eagles stretched a 57-50 halftime lead to an 81-64 bulge with 13:23 left in the game.  Holding a 63-55 edge early in the stanza, a key 18-9 scoring outburst, with Claunch scoring seven points, helped Emory to the 17-point lead.  After LaGrange answered with seven straight points, the Eagles responded with a 7-0 spurt of their own, with Davis scoring the first five points, in reclaiming a 17-point cushion, 88-71, with 9:21 remaining. From there, LaGrange would not get closer than 15 points as Emory finished with the program's eighth-highest point total and the most during Zimmerman's tenure.

Davis scored 18 first-half points, sinking seven-of-10 from the floor along with all four of his free throw attempts.  Foster came off the bench to record all 11 of his points in just 10 minutes of action while Friedberg chipped in seven points.  LaGrange enjoyed an edge in field goal shooting during the opening 20 minutes of action, sinking 47.4 percent (18-of-38) of its attempts compared to Emory's 45.9 percent.  The Panthers held a 23-19 edge on the glass at intermission with Denzel Robinson picking off seven boards while Davis paced Emory in that department with five rebounds.

After a trey by LaGrange's Blake Craft, the team's ninth field goal in 14 attempts to that point, tied the game at 20-20 with 12:39 left in the first half, The Eagles responded with a 12-3 scoring spurt, keyed by eight points from Davis, to take a 32-23 edge with 8:34 remaining.  Emory took the first of two 11-point leads of the stanza with 6:49 on the clock when a pair of free throws by Foster extended its lead to 39-28.  Another Foster make from the stripe with 4:58 remaining kept the Eagles ahead by a 46-35 count.  The Panthers battled back, however, with a 12-2 charge, keyed by four points from Robinson to creep to within 48-47 with 1:48 left.  Foster helped Emory keep LaGrange at bay by scoring four points as part of a 9-3 burst to close out the half that enabled it to enjoy a 57-50 margin at halftime.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 27) when it battles Maryville in a 4:00 p.m., start.