The Emory men's basketball team opened its 2012-13 season on a successful note Friday evening, posting a 98-70 victory over Huntingdon College in the campaign opener for both squads.  The game was the first contest of the Black Tie Classic hosted by Birmingham Southern.

Emory ended the game shooting 55 percent (41-of-75) from the floor compared to Huntingdon's  43 percent (26-of-60).  Both squads shot well from three-point range with the Eagles knocking 50 percent (8-of-16) from distance while the Hawks finished with a 44 percent (7-of-16) effort.   Emory held a 40-32 cushion on the glass and finished with just 10 turnovers to Huntingdon's 19 miscues.

Emory spread out is scoring attack with five players scoring in double figures, led by junior Jake Davis who tied for game honors with 21 points on the strength of nine-of-12 shooting from the floor.  Senior Michael Friedberg and junior McPherson Moore each chipped in 15 points with Friedberg hitting six-of-10 field goal tries and Moore successfully converting six-of-nine from the floor including three-of-four from beyond the arc.  Rounding out the squad's double-digit point producers were senior Alex Greven and sophomore Alex Foster with 12 and 11 points, respectively.  Sophomore Josh Schattie snatched a team-best eight rebounds while sophomore Michael Florin doled out seven assists.

Emory bolted to a 52-35 halftime advantage, hitting 51 percent of its field goal attempts (21-of-41), including a blistering 55 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range.  Moore came off the bench to total 12 first-half points, sinking five-of-eight from the floor while Davis added 11 points, converting four field goals in six opportunities.  Emory held the Hawks scoreless for over a three-minute stretch early in the opening stanza and used an 11-2 burst that stretched a one-point lead into an 18-8 advantage with 13:03 left in the stanza.   A subsequent 16-6 outburst, keyed by Friedberg who picked up all seven of his first-half points in that stretch, enabled the Eagles to claim a 34-14 bulge with 8:08 on the clock.  Emory would build a pair of 21-point leads before the half was over, the latest being a 48-27 score following a bucket by Davis with 3:21 left, before Huntingdon closed out the stanza with an 8-4 run.

The Eagles kept the pressure on the Hawks by scoring the first seven points of the second half to take a commanding 59-35 lead.  After a 10-0 charge by Huntingdon cut Emory's lead to 14 points,  Emory regained control of the contest with an 11-4 sprint with Davis and Foster each picking up four points and capped by a three-point play by Friedberg in claiming a 70-49 advantage with 13:02 left on the clock.  The Eagles scored nine unanswered points over a 1:21 span later on in the stanza that pushed its margin to 83-56  with 9:26 remaining that for all intents and purposes ended any Huntingdon comeback hopes. 

Emory continues its play in the Black Tie Classic on Saturday when it battles the University of the Ozarks in a 4:00 pm start (EST).