The No. 9 ranked Emory University men's basketball team ran its winning streak to four games Sunday afternoon, defeating in-state foe Berry College by a score of 90-65 inside the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.
Senior Ben Pearce led the way in scoring once again with a game-high 25 points while pacing both teams with eight rebounds and doling out six assists. He shot 10-for-18 from the floor and knocked down a pair of threes.
Pearce was joined in double figures by classmate Jair Knight who finished at 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, grabbed five boards and had two steals, as wells as junior Ethan Fauss (13 points) and sophomore Mario Awasum (10 points). Awasum stuff the sheet too in the win, tallying a team-high four blocks to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
"We did a lot of things well today," said Head Coach Jason Zimmerman following the game. "Contesting shots, sharing the ball, and taking advantage of the strengths that we have contributed to the victory. Being able to consistently perform well in these areas will be a good sign of our team as the season progresses."
The Eagles fell into an early hole with the Vikings jumping out to a 9-5 lead within the opening four minutes of play. However, Emory quickly found its footing with Knight, Pearce and Awasum contributing to a 15-0 run over the next four minutes to push the Eagles ahead at 20-9 in front of the under-12 media timeout. From there, the Eagles were unable to gain much separation with the lead staying within single digits for the remainder of the half with Emory taking a 37-30 lead into the break.
Zimmerman and his group capitalized on some halftime adjustments and returned to the court with stronger focus, leading to a quick 10-3 burst to move ahead by 14 points at 47-33. The lead continued to swell in the second half with Emory able to extend its lead to as many as 31 points on an Eli Fauss layup to make it 82-51 with 3:22 to go before settling on the 25-point final margin.
The Eagles dominated under the basket with a 56-14 margin in points in the paint and scored 22 points off 15 Berry turnovers. Emory registered its third straight game with over 20 assists, tying a season-high with 23 compared to just eight giveaways.
Emory will turn its focus next to the Jay Bilas Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 19-20 where the Eagles will take on Christopher Newport and No. 19 TCNJ.
