The No. 3 Emory University men's basketball program reached 100 points for the first time this season while defeating the Guilford College Quakers in Greensboro, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
Six different Eagles notched double figures in the win led by senior Ben Pearce and junior Ethan Fauss who combined for 44 points. Pearce posted a team-leading 24 points, his fourth game this year over 20 points, while Fauss returned from injury in huge way, stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 20 points and career highs with 11 rebounds, six blocks and six assists. Senior Jair Knight recorded 17 points as did fellow start, AJ Harris, who finished with another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Off the bench, sophomore Harris Jackson registered a personal-best 14 points while junior Spencer Hall netted 11.
"Our first four games of the season we have had to play four different styles," said head Coach Jason Zimmerman. "We have continued to improve and find out more and more about ourselves."
Despite being down 62-51 at halftime, the Eagles bounced back to outscore the Quakers 52-35 in the second half. Emory was able to out-shoot Guilford in field goal percentage with a 50.7 percentage while the Quakers led the game with an 83.3 free throw percentage.
The Eagles were quick to take the lead in the opening minutes of the first half with Fauss scoring five points in the first two minutes but the Quakers' offense quickly answered with a four point advantage. The lead changed 13 times in the first 10 minutes of the half with Guilford coming out on top with a 30-29 lead with 10:15 remaining on the clock. The half was later tied at 41 apiece but the Quakers were able to take advantage of made free throws to outscore the Eagles 19-10 in the final five minutes of the half.
Emory's offense came out of the break with Knight landing a dunk at the 14:49 mark to cut Guilford's lead to just one point. Fauss and Pearce teamed up to take the lead back for the Eagles before a three pointer from Jackson secured the lead with just over 12 minutes left in the game. Fauss later sank his second three of the afternoon to give Emory a 12 point advantage, the biggest lead of the game from either side. The Quakers continued to put up a fight closing in on their deficit but Emory finished the final three minutes with a 7-6 run to clinch the 103-97 victory.
"Being able to recover from a first half where we werent our best and play with better focus and grit will help us as we continue through our season," Zimmerman concluded.
The Eagles will return to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday, December 4 to face the Huntingdon Hawks at 5:30 PM at the Woodruff PE Center.
