The Emory men's basketball team suffered its first setback of the season Tuesday evening, coming up short at Piedmont College.  The No. 6-ranked Eagles saw their record dip to 4-1 following an 87-85 loss to the Lions who moved to 3-1.

Senior Alex Foster paced three Emory double-figure scorers with a game-high 23 points, his fourth outing of 20 or more points this year, while grabbing a team-best six boards. Junior Will Trawick contributed 16 points, hitting six-of-12 from the floor including four three pointers in eight attempts.  Sophomore Jonathan Terry came off the bench and finished with a career-high 14 points, converting four-of-six from the field, including three triples in four attempts.

Piedmont shot an Emory opponent season-high 58.8 percent (30-of-51) from the floor, 64.3 percent (18-of-28) over the final 20 minutes of play.  The Lions were successful on six three-pointers in 13 attempts (46.2 percent) and 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.  The Eagles posted a 38.8 percent (31-of-80) effort from the field that included 13-of-39 from beyond the arc with their attempt total tying the program's single-game mark.

With Foster accounting for five points, Emory opened the second half on a 10-2 run that gave it a 47-39 lead early in the stanza.  The Eagles maintained a seven-point advantage, 57-50, following a three pointer by senior Max Davis with13:56 left in the game, but a 12-5 Piedmont spurt erased Emory's lead, knotting the score at 62-62.  A triple by Terry enabled Emory to reclaim the lead but eight unanswered Piedmont points, capped by a three pointer by Trae Gaines, put the home team up by a 70-65 margin with 8:22 remaining.  Gaines would lead the Lions in scoring with 21 points.

A three pointer by Gaines, followed by a bucket by Chase England, extended Piedmont's lead to 75-67 before a pair of foul shots by Foster and a basket by senior Michael Florin sliced the deficit to four points with 5:54 on the clock.  Facing an 83-75 obstacle, the Eagles mounted an 8-2 charge, highlighted by a three pointer from Terry, that drew them to within two points with 1:52 remaining.   Piedmont answered with a pair of free throws before a layup by Florin with 42 ticks left kept Emory within two points.  A steal by Florin with 17 seconds set the stage for an Emory three-point attempt that just missed its mark, however senior Josh Schattie emerged with the offensive board, whereupon Emory called a timeout.  The Eagles launched a three-point attempt with three seconds left but came up empty handed in their attempt to win the game. 

Emory returns to action on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 5-6) when it plays at Washington University's Lopata Classic in St. Louis.   The Eagles will meet Trinity University in their first contest.