Junior Adam Gigax scored 24 of his career-high 36 points in the second half, and the Emory men's basketball team used a potent attack over the final 20 minutes of action in posting a Thursday evening home win over Berry College.  The Eagles won their fifth straight game and upped their record to 7-2 following a 91-80 triumph over the Vikings who fell to 4-7.

Gigax ended the evening connecting on 11-of-23 field goals, including a career-high tying six three-point field goals in 12 attempts, and eight-of-nine from the foul line in tying the program's fifth-highest individual game total.   Junior Christopher Avant finished with 13 points, sinking six field goals in nine tries, while tying Gigax for the team lead with seven boards.  Senior Jim Gordon and junior Donald Avant rounded out the team's double-digit scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Junior Whit Rapp helped bolster the Emory attack with a career-high tying 13 assists, tying the school's second-highest individual game total.

With Berry holding a one-point lead early in the second half, back-to-back triples by Gigax ignited a 10-2 Emory burst over a 75-second stretch that gave it a 47-40 advantage with 15:23 left in the contest.  A three-pointer by sophomore Beau Bommarito, followed by a charity toss by Donald Avant, pushed Emory to an eight-point edge with 12:10 on the clock, but the Vikings clawed back to within three after Nick Marder sank two from the stripe.  The Eagles then responded with a big 12-2 blitz, with Gigax scoring the final eight Emory points in that stretch, to bolt to a 70-57 margin with 6:55 remaining.  After a Berry bucket, a jumper by sophomore Gebereal Baitey and a pair of free throws by Gigax extended the Eagles' edge to 76-61 with 5:53 left.  Emory maintained a 13-point lead with 2:31 on the clock before seven unanswered points by the Vikings allowed them to stay in the hunt, down six with 1:15 on the clock.  But Emory used a pair of free throws by both Gordon and Rapp to take a double-digit lead with under a minute remaining.  The Eagles outscored the visitors by a 59-45 margin in the second half, knocking down 18-of-32 field goal tries (56.3%), including seven treys in 15 attempts (46.7%), and 16 free throws.  Gigax was successful on seven-of-12 from the floor and drained five triples in nine attempts in the second half.

For the game, Emory registered a 46 percent (29-63) figure from the floor, including 40.7 percent (11-27) from distance.  The Eagles' 11 treys represented the fifth time this year they totaled double figures in that department.  Berry finished with an effort of 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field and 46.7 (7-15) from beyond the arc.  Emory converted a season-high 22 free throws in 29 attempts while the Vikings made 23 of 33. 

Berry capitalized on some cold Emory shooting during the opening minutes of the game, claiming a 14-5 lead after the Eagles missed their first 11 field goal attempts.  The Vikings enjoyed their largest advantage of the night at 19-9, but a three-pointer by Baitey started a 6-0 spurt that sliced the deficit to four points. Berry would lead by seven points, 29-22, with 3:43 left in the stanza, but the Eagles fought back to within three heading into the break after Gigax nailed a triple with 52 ticks on the clock.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 31) when it plays Hampden-Sydney College (5-5) in a 2:00 pm tip.