The Emory University men's basketball team opened the NCAA postseason with a convincing 83-68 victory over Huntingdon College in the first round Friday night at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.
The Eagles saw five different players finish in double digits as Emory advanced to the second round for the 10th time in program history and first since the 2022 season. With the 15-point win, the Eagles will take on Berry College in the second round on Saturday as the Vikings downed Guilford, 80-77, in first round action on Friday. This will be the second time the Eagles and Vikings have faced each other on the court this season with Emory earning the 91-71 win in the opener back on November 10.
Junior Jair Knight led the way with a team-high 18 points as he shot 8-for-14 from the floor and brought the WoodPEC crowd to their feet on three different electrifying occasions. Sophomore AJ Harris posted 17 points in his NCAA tournament debut while tying for the team lead with seven rebounds. Senior Logan Shanahan matched Harris with seven boards to go along with 12 points, five assists and four blocks. Sophomore Spencer Hall and Cale Martens added 10 points apiece off the bench.
The Eagles came out of the gates on fire as the team held a 10-0 lead before most patrons had settled into their seats. Senior Albert Fallas knocked down a triple on the first shot of the game before Shanahan followed with a pair of buckets. Harris ended the run with a three-pointer of his own just 87 seconds into the contest.
Huntingdon did not back down though as the Hawks answered with a 13-2 run to claim their first lead of the night at 13-12 at the 14:59 mark. Both sides traded baskets with HC still ahead at 16-15 with 13:35 to play in the half.
From there, the Eagles ripped off another 10-0 burst with Shanahan, Harris and Hall contributing to building a 25-16 Emory advantage. After a Martise Jackson jumper, Shanahan and Knight extended the Emory lead into double figures once more at 29-18.
The Hawks cut the deficit back to seven at 31-24 but a 19-5 stretch over the final 9:02 of the half helped the Eagles lead grow to 50-29 as the teams went into the break which included scoring the final seven points of the period.
In the second half, the Eagles' margin swelled to as many as 27 when Fallas sank another triple with 12:28 remaining to make the score 70-43. The lead stayed over 20 points for most of the second half before the Hawks began to cut away in the final moments. Huntingdon brought it down to 15 with 4:08 to play but two baskets from Martens inside the final two minutes helped seal the victory.
Second round action from the WoodPEC is set to get underway at 6:50 PM on Saturday, March 8th with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
