Box Score Senior Alex Foster scored 18 of his team-high 27 points in the second half and led five double-figure scorers as the Emory men's basketball came away with a Sunday afternoon victory over the University of Chicago. The No. 20 Eagles raised their overall mark to 17-5, 7-4 in the University Athletic Association following an 85-82 decision over the Maroons who slipped to 15-7 overall, 7-4 in the league. Emory, Chicago and New York University are all tied for the conference lead.
Foster concluded the contest hitting nine-of-15 field goal attempts, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, and converted all six of his free throw opportunities in registering his 20th double-figure scoring effort of the year and 12th of 20 or more points. Junior Will Trawick posted a 13-point afternoon while senior Michael Florin chipped in 12 points and five assists in a 29-minute stint. Rounding out the double-figure scorers were senior Josh Schattie and sophomore Jonathan Terry, each of whom totaled 10 points. Terry also recorded a team-high eight rebounds and a season-high four steals and two blocked shots. Schattie recorded six of the team's 14 steals, a career best for him in that category.
After a pair of Chicago free throws narrowed an Emory lead to six points midway through the second half, the Eagles took control of the game with a dominating 15-0 run over a three-minute span that ballooned their lead to 21 points, 79-58, with 8:22 remaining in the contest. Emory scored on six straight possessions during that run, with Foster picking up nine points, and took advantage of four missed UC field goal attempts and a pair of turnovers. A bucket by Terry kept the Eagles ahead by an 83-62 count with 6:00 left in the contest, but the Maroons caught fire and battled back with a 14-0 run of their own, with Jordan Smith scoring five of his game-high 30 points in the span, to draw to within seven points with 1:22 on the clock. A pair of free throws by Davis Rao put Emory up by an 85-76 margin with 43 ticks on the clock. UC then responded with triples with nine seconds left and at the buzzer to close out the game's scoring.
The Eagles ended the day shooting 50.8 percent from the floor (31-of-61) while the Maroons posted a mark of 46.2 percent (30-of-65). Emory was successful on eight-of-20 from three-point range compared to UC's nine-of-27 performance. Though it was outrebounded by a 44-28 margin, Emory made up for it by chalking up a season-high tying 14 steals.
A 9-2 Emory run over a 90-second stretch, capped by a three pointer by Terry, wiped out a three-point Chicago lead and gave the Eagles a 15-11 edge with 11:38 left in the opening half. After a pair of foul shots by UC's Jordan Smith knotted the score at 19-19, Alex Foster scored five points during a 9-2 Emory spurt that gave the home squad a 28-21 margin with 7:22 left. The Eagles would lead by as many as nine points, 39-30, following a triple by freshman Whit Rapp, but the Maroons whittled their deficit to five points, 42-37 heading into halftime. Florin and Foster each scored nine points to lead Emory while Waller Perez and Smith each totaled 12 points for Chicago. Emory shot 50 percent (16-of-32) from the floor while the Maroons checked in with a mark of 46.9 percent (15-of-32).
Emory returns to action on Friday (Feb. 20) when it plays at Case Western.
