Seniors Jake Davis and McPherson Moore combined for 44 points in leading the Emory men's basketball team to a win over Maryville College Saturday afternoon in its first game of the LaGrange College Thanksgiving Classic.  The Eagles raised their overall mark to 4-2 following a 90-79 decision over the Scots who slipped to 1-3.

Emory made the most of a strong second half in securing the victory, connecting on 52.9 percent from the floor (18-of-34) in posting a 47-31 scoring advantage.  Davis concluded the game successful on nine-of-14 from the field along with draining all seven of his free throw attempts in recording his third straight and fourth outing of 20 or more points this year.  Moore knocked down seven of his 15 field goal opportunities including four treys.  Freshman Austin DaGue rounded out the squad's double-figure scorers with 11 points, including all six in a 6-0 Emory burst over a 63-second span that gave the Eagles a 79-64 advantage with 8:07 remaining in the game.

For the game, Emory hit 51.6 percent from the floor (33-of-64) while Maryville was close behind with a 50 percent effort (29-of-58).  The Eagles were successful on a season-high 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18) and finished with a 38-32 advantage on the glass, led by sophomore Davis Rao's seven boards.  Emory turned the ball over on nine occasions compared to MC's 16 miscues and finished with a 27-9 advantage in the points-off-turnovers category.

Trailing by a 48-43 count entering the second half, the Eagles scored 10 of the stanza's opening 11 points, six coming from Davis, in claiming a 53-49 lead.  Emory held a four-point advantage, 65-61, before using an 8-2 burst, keyed by a pair of Moore triples, in boosting its advantage to 73-63 with 10:06 on the clock.  A bucket by junior Michael Florin followed by a three-point play by Moore upped Emory's margin to 19 points, 86-67, with 4:40 remaining.  The Scots drew to within 11 points with 2:45 on the clock, but a clutch triple by Florin with 1:23 left ended MC's comeback hopes.

In a closely played an energetic first half, the Scots took their five-point lead at the break after hitting 60.7 percent (17-of-28) of their field goal attempts while Emory was successful on 50 percent (15-of-30).  Davis totaled 14 points during the opening 20 minutes of action, connecting six-of-10 from the field and both of his free throw attempts.  Moore chipped in eight points, draining a pair of three pointers in four attempts. Sophomore Jaumonee Byrd topped MC's scoring effort with 12 points.  A three pointer by Alex Foster, his first of two from long range in the half, staked Emory to a 22-17 lead with 9:56 left in the half but Maryville responded with a 15-5 charge that gave it a 32-27 lead with 6:00 on the clock

Emory returns to action on Sunday when it plays host LaGrange in a 5:00 pm tip.