Senior Austin Claunch and scored a game-high 24 points Sunday afternoon in leading the No. 8-ranked Emory men's basketball team to a victory over Case Western Reserve in University Athletic Association action.  The Eagles raised their overall record to 15-1 (4-1 UAA) with a 70-59 decision over the Spartans who slipped to 8-8 overall, 0-5 in the league.

Claunch ended the afternoon sinking 10-of-16 from the floor along with three free throws en route to his seventh 20-point performance of the afternoon.  In addition to his point production, he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, dished out six assists and came up with four steals.  Junior Alex Greven and sophomore Jake Davis rounded out the squad's double-digit scorers with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Emory concluded the contest sinking 43.9 percent (25-of-57) of its field goal attempts compared to CWRU's mark of 39.7 percent (25-of-63).  The Eagles converted six-of-17 opportunities from beyond the arc while the Spartans connected on just two-of-15 tries.  Case did post a 39-34 edge on the glass with Austin Fowler pacing all players with 14 boards.  Senior Tom Summers led the Case scoring attack with 15 points.

Case led for the opening 10 minutes of the first half and maintained a five-point edge, 17-12, with 10:50 left in the stanza.  A 7-0 spurt by Emory, started by a three-point play by Claunch, enabled the Eagles to knot the affair at 19-19 with 8:16 remaining.  CWRU used a jumper by David Thompson to claim a 21-19 advantage but the Eagles bounced back with a 9-0 charge, with Claunch scoring back-to-back baskets, followed by a triple by Greven and a bucket by senior Corey Spraggings to bolt to a 28-21 lead with 4:14 left.  With Claunch scoring 16 points and Greven eight points, Emory went into the intermission in the lead by a 35-29 count. 

Case was within striking distance at 43-37 with 13:30 on the clock before seven unanswered points by the Eagles upped their lead to 13 points, 50-37, with 11:05 left in the game.  Davis started the run with a basket followed by a bucket by Claunch.  Junior Nash Oh then closed out the run with three-pointer.  A three-point play by Davis with 8:33 remaining extended Emory's cushion to 15 points, 56-41, and the closest Case would get from that stage was 11 points on four occasions.

The triumph was Emory's seventh straight at home this year and extended the team's home court winning streak to 16 games.

Emory returns to action next Friday (Feb. 27) when it plays at the University of Chicago.