Emory junior Adam Gigax led four double-figure scorers with 20 points, but it wasn't enough as the Emory men's basketball team dropped a Saturday afternoon decision to LaGrange College at the Oglethorpe Thanksgiving Classic.  The Panthers upped their record to 4-1 following a 95-84 victory over Emory who saw its record dip to 2-2.

Emory ended the afternoon shooting 40.6 percent (26 of 64) from the floor compared to the Panthers' 45.5 percent (30 of 66).  LaGrange was successful on 40 percent (12 of 30) of its three-point attempts while the Eagles connected on 35.3 percent (12 of 34).   Emory closed out the contest with a 46-40 advantage on the glass, and was led in that category by juniors Whit Rapp and Donald Avant, both of whom grabbed eight boards.  Rapp also dished out a season-high 11 assists, his sixth career outing of double figures.

Joining Gigax as Emory's double-digit scorers were senior Jonathan Terry, who picked up 17 points, sinking five-of-11 from distance and both of his free throw opportunities, junior Christopher Avant with 14 points and senior Jim Gordon, who tallied 11 points. 

The opening 10 minutes of the first half was a back-and-forth affair with the teams exchanging momentum swings.  A bucket by Gordon, followed by a three pointer by Gigax gave Emory a 33-27 lead with 5:55 left in the stanza.  However, LaGrange closed out the half on an 18-3 run, that propelled it to a 45-36 edge at the break.  Elijah Adedoyin scored 15 of his 20 points during the opening half, hitting five triples in seven tries (ended the game six-of-11 from beyond the arc).  Gigax, Terry and Gordon all scored eight points for the Eagles. 

LaGrange scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead to 50-36, before Chris Avant countered with five straight points for the Eagles to cut the gap to nine points.  Another triple by Adedoyin boosted the Panthers to a 14-point cushion, 55-41, with just under 17 minutes remaining, and a later 8-0 run, which saw Tyler Langston hit back-to-back treys, gave them a 69-52 edge with 11:37 on the clock.  However, a three-pointer by Terry jump-started a 9-0 Emory blitz that drew it to within eight points.  Trailing by a 76-64 count, a three pointer by Gordon followed by a put-back by Chris Avant sliced the deficit to seven points with 6:11 remaining.   After four straight LaGange points, Emory kept charging with a three pointer by Gigax and a pair of charity tosses by Rapp allowing it to creep to within six points with 4:17 remaining.  But, that was as close as Emory would get as the Panthers scored 12 of the game's next 15 points en route to taking a 92-77 lead with just under a minute remaining. 

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 27) when it meets Maryville College at Oglethorpe in a 2:00 pm start.