Box Score Sophomore Adam Gigax poured in a career-high 25 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory men's basketball came out on the short end of an overtime road decision to Brandeis. The Judges raised their overall mark to 7-7, 1-2 in University Athletic Association play following a 76-68 triumph over the Eagles who slipped to 9-5 overall, 2-1 in the league.
A Gigax bucket with 4:17 left in the extra session knotted the score at 63-63, but BU scored seven unanswered points, five of which came on free throws, to take a 70-63 advantage with 1:04 left. A three-pointer by senior Will Trawick drew Emory to within four points, but the Judges secured the win by converting all six of their attempts from the stripe over the final 54 seconds.
Gigax concluded the afternoon hitting 11 of 20 from the floor en route to his eighth straight and 10th double-figure scoring effort of the year. Trawick produced an 18-point afternoon, 16 coming in the second half and overtime, his 11th double-digit effort of the campaign.
The loss offset a strong Emory rally over the final 11 minutes of regulation. The Judges used a 10-0 burst early in the second half to claim a 44-33 lead, one of four 11-point cushions they would enjoy over the final 20 minutes. Trailing by a 52-42 count with 11:17 on the clock, the Eagles used five points from Trawick and a triple by Gigax in narrowing their deficit to two points with 7:06 left. Back-to-back treys by senior Davis Rao and sophomore Whit Rapp pushed Emory to a 58-55 lead with 3:31 left. After a BU free throw, a three pointer by the Judges' Robinson Vilmont put the hosts up by a point with 2:15 left, and when John Powell scored on a drive, BU held a 61-58 edge. Gigax then knocked down a three pointer with 1:18 left that eventually forced the overtime.
Brandeis finished with a slight edge in field goal shooting, sinking 41.8 percent (23 of 55) compared to Emory's 40.3 percent (25 of 62). In the three-point shooting department, the Judges checked in a 29.2 percent (7 of 24) while the Eagles were at 28.1 percent (9 of 32). Brandeis held a 41-35 edge on the glass with junior Jonathan Terry pacing Emory in that category with eight boards.
Jordan Cooper led the BU scoring attack with 24 points, hitting eight field goals in 13 attempts, including three-of-five from beyond the arc. Vilmont added 16 points.
Emory got out of the blocks quickly, hitting eight of its first 12 field goal tries and using six points from Gigax to sprint to an 18-9 lead with 12:40 left in the first half. However, the Eagles then went cold, going scoreless for nearly seven minutes, while seeing the Judges on a 15-0 scoring spree, started by back-to-back triples by Cooper, which put the hosts up by a 24-18 count with 6:14 on the clock. A three-pointer by Terry snapped the Emory scoring drought and a bucket by Gigax allowed the Eagles to draw to within one point. Back-to-back baskets by Gigax put Emory ahead, 29-28, with 2:27 left in the half, but a Cooper trey with 14 ticks on the clock snapped a 31-31 deadlock and gave the Judges a three-point edge heading into halftime. Gigax paced the Emory attack with 17 points, hitting eight-of-12 from the floor. Cooper topped the Judges' scoring with 13 points, sinking five field goals in six tries including three treys. Emory shot 46.7 percent (14 of 30) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes compared to BU's 46.4 percent (13 of 28). The Eagles sank just 3 of 15 from distance with Brandeis converting six of its 16 attempts.
Emory returns to action next Friday when it hosts Carnegie Mellon in a scheduled 8:00 pm start.
