For the second time in program history, the Emory University men's basketball team is headed to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament after holding on to defeat the University of Mary Washington, 80-78, in the Sweet 16 played Friday evening at Silloway Gymnasium on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
The Emory Eagles withheld a furious last-minute charge from the UMW Eagles over the final two minutes and 19 seconds as Mary Washington nearly erased a 12-point deficit including two looks at the basket at the buzzer. With the win, Emory wins its 23rd game of the season – tied for the second-most in a single-season in program history – improving to 23-5, while UMW sees its Cinderella story end with an overall record of 15-15.
With the win, the Eagles will be in the national quarterfinals for just the second time ever and first since 2014. Emory is set to take on weekend host Wesleyan University (29-1) with a spot in Fort Wayne, Indiana up for grabs. Tip off for the Elite Eight matchup against the Cardinals is scheduled for 7:45 PM in Middletown. Wesleyan defeated WPI, 66-50, in its Sweet 16 contest Friday night.
Juniors
Ben Pearce and
Jair Knight combined for 52 of the Eagles' 80 points with Pearce leading the way with 27 on 8-for-17 shooting and was 6-for-12 from beyond the arc. Senior
Logan Shanahan joined the duo in double figures with 14 points to go along with team-highs in assists (5) and blocks (4). For Mary Washington, Zack Blue netted a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds as he played the entire 40 minutes.
With already several upsets under its belt in the month of March, Mary Washington had another one on its mind on Friday as UMW set the tone early in the game with a 16-9 lead through six minutes and owned a 35-25 lead with 4:27 remaining in the half.
However, Emory seized some of the momentum back before halftime as the Eagles closed the half on a 12-2 run. Knight and Pearce combined for the first 10 points during the stretch before freshman
Mario Awasum knocked down an inside layup at the buzzer to send the teams into the locker room knotted at 37-37.
Both teams stayed within a possession of each other through the first eight minutes of the second half prior to a Pearce triple in front of the Emory bench which put the Eagles ahead 56-52 at the under 12-minute mark. The teams remained close over the next five minutes and saw Emory lead 66-65 with 6:53 left to play in regulation.
From there, a 10-0 Emory burst gave the Eagles a double-digit lead for the first time in the game and a triple with the shot clock expiring from Knight pushed Emory ahead by its largest lead of the game at 79-67 with 2:19 showing on the clock.
Mary Washington showed tremendous poise with its season on the line, forcing three turnovers and riding seven consecutive points from Blue before a successful Jay Randall jumper made it a 79-76 game with 37 seconds left.
Out of a timeout, Pearce went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to put Emory back ahead by four but a foul on the defensive end sent Blue back to the stripe where he made both to make the score 80-78 with 19 seconds to go.
Following the inbounds pass, UMW forced another turnover and quickly called a timeout to draw up its final possession. The shot went to Jadon Burgess who had a good look for the win but his shot bounced off iron. UMW's Ulysses Young corralled the offensive rebound and put up a desperation attempt but it rolled off the rim as well, giving Emory the two-point victory.
Both Emory and Wesleyan will be looking for its first Final Four trip in its respective school's history when the game gets underway Saturday night. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, students, and children per day. Ticket sales open at 6:15 pm with doors to the gymnasium opening at 6:45 pm.
