The No. 7 ranked Emory University men's basketball team earned another convincing victory in Charlotte on Saturday as the Eagles downed The College of New Jersey, 95-69, on the second night of the Jay Bilas Classic. The Eagles will leave the tournament with a 2-0 record with a 29.5 margin of victory against a pair of teams receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll.
Seniors Ben Pearce and Jair Knight carried Emory on the offensive end during their win over Lions with the guard combo combining for 46 points and tallied 14 of the team's 19 assists on the evening. Knight also recorded a double-double with 11 boards. Sophomore Mario Awasum notched a double-double as well with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds while Friday night's star, Ethan Fauss, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The first half saw the game stay relatively close between the two benches although the Eagles led from the opening tip. Eight of the nine players that saw the floor in the first half scored for the Eagles while the team shot 15-for-39 from the floor. Emory's lead was in single digits for the entirety of the half, leading by as many as nine points. The Eagles held a 33-29 advantage before two quick buckets from Fauss and Knight inside the final minute pushed the halftime margin to 37-29 and set the momentum for the Eagles' second half surge.
Knight led all players with 12 points across the opening 20 minutes while Pearce doled out six of his game-high eight dimes in the period.
In the second half, Pearce took over the game as he netted 22 of his team-leading 26 points after the break as the Eagles pulled away by outscoring the Lions 58-40 down the stretch. Pearce knocked down all four of his successful three-pointers in the second half as he moved into a tie with Adam Gigax for third place on the all-time Emory list with 209 treys in his career.
Knight scored Emory's first points of the second half, pushing the lead into double digits for the first time on the night. The Eagles never saw their lead dip below 10 for the remainder of regulation and led by as many as 27 points with a Spencer Hall layup with 48 seconds to play to make it a 93-66 contest prior to settling on the 26-point final margin.
The Eagles, now riding a six-game winning streak, will take a nine-day hiatus for the holidays before returning to the court on December 29th and 30th as the team will welcome Bates, No. 25 Maryville and No. 16 Hampden-Sydney to Atlanta for the Emory Holiday Classic. Both days will feature games at 2:00pm and 4:00pm at the WoodPEC.
