The Emory men's basketball team staged a furious second-half rally Wednesday evening, battling back from a pair of 19-point deficits, but fell short in its comeback as Birmingham Southern escaped the Woodruff PE Center with a win over the Eagles.  BSC upped its overall record to 4-2 following a 75-72 decision over Emory who slipped to 4-2.

BSC shot an opponent season-high 53.8 percent from the floor (28-of-52) compared to the Eagles' mark of 45.0 percent (27-of-60).  The three-point shot play a pivotal role in the outcome of the game as the Panthers converted a blistering 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from beyond the arc, while Emory sank 28.6 percent (6-of-21) of its triple attempts.   BSC finished with a 33-27 edge in rebounding which helped negate its 21 turnovers vs. the12 miscues that Emory finished with.

Junior Jake Davis returned to the lineup and paced four Emory double-figure scorers with 19 points, hitting eight-of-17 from the field including a pair of three pointers.  Seniors Michael Friedberg and Alex Greven each totaled 17 points with Friedberg adding a team-high seven boards and three blocked shots, giving him multiple rejections in all six games this season.  Rounding out the team's double-digit point producers was junior McPherson Moore with 10 points.

BSC came out firing in the first half and made seven of its first eight field goal attempts, going four-of-four from distance in that stretch, in taking an 18-9 lead just a little five minutes into the contest.  A three pointer by Davis drew Emory to within 28-21 but the Panthers scored 11 unanswered points, nine coming by Kevin Kegarise on the strength of three treys, to bolt to a 39-21 bulge with 5:36 left in the stanza.  Another triple by Kegarise gave BSC its first of two 19-point cushions it would have in the game, 46-27, with 1:31 left on the clock, but Greven answered with a 5-0 spurt of his own for Emory that cut the deficit to 14 points, 46-32 at the intermission.   Kegarise scored 15 points, all on three-point field goals, and spearheaded the BSC effort that saw it shoot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes of play including 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from beyond the arc.

The Panthers scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to post another 19-point lead, 53-34, before a 6-0 Emory run, keyed by a pair of buckets by Friedberg kept the Eagles in the hunt.   BSC still maintained a 13-point edge at 65-52 with 10:23 left following a layup by Larry Thomas, however Emory punched back with a determined 11-0 blitz that saw five different players score, and capped by a three-point field goal by Davis, to slice the gap to just two points with 6:02 remaining.   BSC countered with a 9-3 spurt that upped its lead back to eight with 3:56 on the clock, but a layup by Friedberg, a jumper by Davis and a pair of charity tosses by Friedberg drew the Eagles to within a 74-72 score with 42 ticks on the clock.  After a Panther free throw, Emory missed a three-point shot but still had another opportunity following a BSC turnover.  However, another triple try missed its mark and gave BSC the victory.   Kegarise led all scorers with 21 points, all coming via the three-point shot, while Larry Thomas added 20 for the Panthers.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 1) when it plays an afternoon road game at Rhodes College.