Senior Davis Rao and junior Jonathan Terry were among five double-figure scorers with 15 points apiece, but it wasn't enough as the Emory men's basketball team came out on the short end of a hard-fought battle to LaGrange College at the Maryville College Thanksgiving Classic.  LaGrange boosted its record to 4-1 following a 91-86 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 4-3.

All of Rao's eight field goal attempts were three pointers, and he hit four of them, while going three of four from the foul line in registering his season high in points. Rao also came up with three of Emory's eight steals on the afternoon.  Terry came off the bench to sink six-of-14 from the floor, three-of-eight from beyond the arc, in notching his third straight and fourth double-digit performance of the year.  Junior Austin DaGue and sophomore Adam Gigax each finished with 13 points while sophomore Whit Rapp chalked up 10 points while doling out a career-best 12 assists, with that mark tying the third-highest individual game total in program history. 

Both teams finished out the contest shooting nearly identical from the floor as Emory finished with a 45.6 percent effort (26 of 57) and LaGrange a performance of 45.2 percent (28 of 62).  The Eagles held a firm advantage in three-point shooting, knocking down a season-high tying 13 triples in 31 opportunities (41.9%) while the Panthers sank just 28.6 percent (6 of 21) of their attempts.  LC did convert 29-of-38 from the foul line while Emory was successful on 21 of 30.  Each team grabbed 37 rebounds, but Emory was hurt by a season-high 21 turnovers that helped LaGrange to a 21-11 margin in points off turnovers.

Coming into the second half with a 45-40 lead, the Eagles took their largest lead of the stanza with 17:41 remaining in the game when a pair of free throws by senior Will Trawick put them ahead by a 52-43 margin. Mark Wagner then scored the first five points of a 7-0 LaGrange run that drew it to within two points.  Wagner ended up scoring a game-high 24 points while contributing seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.   A three pointer by Rao kept Emory ahead by five points, 55-50, but LaGrange used a 6-0 spurt, capped by a triple by Braxton Ford to take its first lead of the day at 56-55 with 15:04 on the clock.  Four points apiece by Terry and Gigax, along with a trey by sophomore Jim Gordon, fueled an 11-4 Emory counter that put it up by a 66-60 score with 11:28 remaining.  Sophomore Chris Avant's basket with 7:31 left gave Emory an edge of 69-68 but six consecutive points by the Panthers staked them to a five-point lead.  A big trey by Terry knotted the score at 84-84 with just 72 ticks remaining but Wagner accounted for two of LC's next three free throws that gave the Panthers an 87-84 margin.  A bucket by Terry with 18 seconds in the clock cut the deficit to one point, and the Eagles were able to force a five-second call on the ensuing Panther inbound attempt.  However, Emory turned the ball over on its inbound attempt, where it fouled Wagner who marched to the line to sink a pair, stretching LaGrange's advantage to three points. Emory launched a three-point shot with five seconds left that missed the mark and that was rebounded by the Panthers' Wagner.  He was fouled and closed out the contest by sinking two foul shots.

With Rao and DaGue scoring nine and eight points, respectively, the Eagles shot 50 percent (13 of 26) from the field during the opening 20 minutes in taking a 45-40 lead into halftime.  Emory was hot from long range, sinking eight-of-16 attempts with six different players accounting for at least one triple, including Rao who converted three. A 13-5 Emory run that saw freshman Beau Bommarito score five points and Terry and Rao hit three pointers, gave the Eagles a 20-10 lead 6:08 into the contest.  A three pointer by Gigax kept Emory ahead by a 25-17 margin but the Panthers fought back to tie the score after Wagner hit from distance with 6:59 left in the stanza. A DaGue three pointer closed out a 12-4 Emory spurt, putting the Eagles ahead, 39-31, with 3:22 left, but LaGrange would whittle its deficit down to 45-40 by the time the first-half horn sounded.

Emory returns to action next Sunday, Dec. 6, when it plays at Guilford College in a 3:00 pm start.