Emory senior Alex Gulotta scored a season-high 20 points and senior Austin Claunch and sophomore Jake Davis each totaled 15 points in spearheading a win over Oglethorpe University on Monday night.  The Eagles raised their overall record to 8-0 following a 60-54 decision over the Stormy Petrels who slipped to 3-5.  Emory's 8-0 start marks the first time in school history that the program has won its opening eight games of a season.

Oglethorpe outshot Emory from the floor, hitting 42.0 percent of its field goal tries compared to the Eagles' 35.1 percent (20-of-57) mark.  Emory finished with a 36-31 edge on the glass, 14-7 on the offensive end, with junior Michael Friedberg pacing the club in that department with a career-high tying 12 rebounds, his third performance this season of 10 or more boards.  Friedberg also finished the contest with 10 points, five blocked shots and three steals.

Gulotta hit seven-of-17 field goal attempts and accounted for all six of Emory's three-point field goals, tying his third-highest career total.  Emory made the most of 16 Oglethorpe turnovers, parlaying those into 21 points while Oglethorpe scored nine points off 10 Emory miscues. 

Emory got out the gate slowly in the first half, hitting just five of its first 20 attempts from the floor in falling behind by a 23-13 with 6:44 left in the stanza.  The game was deadlocked at 13-13 before the Petrels went on a 10-0 scoring run with junior Christian Molinet accounting for all five of his first-half points in that stretch.  The Eagles countered with a 6-0 charge, started by a three-point field goal by Gulotta, one of four triples for the Briarcliff Manor, NY, native in the half.  After a bucket by OU's Alec Pitts gave the home team a 27-19 edge with 2:34 on the clock, the Eagles closed out the half on a 10-3 spurt, capped by a Claunch floater in the waning seconds that drew Emory to within one point at 30-29 at the intermission.  Emory ended the stanza shooting 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the floor while the Petrels checked in at 37.9 percent (11-of-29).  Gulotta paced Emory's scoring effort with 12 points on the strength of four three-point field goals. 

The Eagles' momentum carried over to the second half, opening the stanza with a torrid 22-6 scoring outburst that enabled them to claim a 51-36 advantage with 7:13 left in the game.  Part of that surge was a 15-0 outburst where Emory held the Petrels scoreless for nearly a nine-minute stretch, snapping a 36-36 tie en route to its largest lead of the game.  Davis scored seven points in that stretch while Claunch chipped in six points. Oglethorpe answered with nine straight points, capped by a three-point field goal by Sam Purdy that cut Emory's margin to 51-45 with 4:55 on the clock.  After the teams traded baskets, a crucial three pointer by Gulotta upped Emory's cushion to 56-47 with 3:25 remaining.  OU mounted one last comeback bid with five straight points that drew it to within four points with 39 ticks on the clock.  However, four straight free throws by Claunch helped seal the outcome of the contest.  

Emory will now break for final exams and the holidays before returning to action on Dec. 29 with a home game against Rhodes College.