Junior Jake Davis led all players with 18 points and the Emory men's basketball team used a strong second half in coming away with a victory over Brandeis University Friday evening.  The Eagles captured their fourth straight contest and raised their overall record to 12-4, 4-2 in the University Athletic Association following a 69-55 verdict over the No. 19 Judges who slipped to 14-3 overall, 5-1 in the league.

The Eagles upped their home record to 6-2 on the year thanks to a strong second half that saw them convert 51.6 percent of their field goal attempts en route to outpointing  the Judges by a 40-29 count over the final 20 minutes.  For the game Emory registered a 46.7 percent showing (28-of-60) from the floor vs. 38.8 percent (19-of-49) for Brandeis.  Emory held a 33-32 edge in rebounding and was led in that department by senior Alex Greven who grabbed six boards to go along with 14 points.  Classmate Michael Friedberg rounded out the squad's double-digit scorers with 15 points, sinking seven-of-12 of his field goal opportunities including his lone three-point attempt.

Holding a 31-30 lead early in the second half, Emory rattled off a 9-2 burst with Friedberg scoring four points and sophomore Alex Foster capping it off with a three pointer, to race to a 40-32 advantage with 14:52 on the clock.  The Judges battled back and scored eight unanswered points in a 77-second span to deadlock the game at 40-40.  A three-point play by Emory sophomore Michael Florin started a 10-2 Emory charge that saw Friedberg account for the final five points on a triple and a layup, that enabled the home squad to reclaim control of the contest, 50-42 with 11:29 left. After a basket by BU's Gabriel Morton drew it to within six, Emory held the Judges scoreless for the next 6:10 and used a 12-0 barrage to stake itself to an insurmountable 18-point margin at 62-44.  Florin, who scored all nine of points during the second half, scored six points in that stretch while Greven added four points. 

Emory got out of the blocks slowly, hitting just five of its first 17 field goals in falling behind by an 18-10 count with 8:10 left in the first half.  However, the Eagles regrouped and ran off an 11-1 spurt, with Davis scoring five points, to claim a 21-19 advantage with 4:44 remaining.  The Judges then answered with a 7-0 charge with Ben Bartoldus scoring back-to-back buckets to go up by a 26-21 count with 3:15 on the clock.  The Eagles then countered by scoring the final eight points of the stanza to stake themselves to a 29-26 lead at the break.  Davis scored a dozen points to lead Emory while Greven added seven points.  The Eagles ended the half shooting 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the floor while BU connected at a 43.5 percent (10-of-23) clip.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Jan. 27) when it plays host to New York University starting at noon.