The No. 1 ranked Emory University men's basketball team saw its 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in program history, come to an end Friday night as the Eagles fell on the road to University Athletic Association rival WashU, 89-74, in St. Louis, Missouri.
The loss was the first for top-ranked Emory since November 15th and the first inside conference play as the Eagles slip to 14-2 on the season and 4-1 in UAA contests. The Bears pick up just their second conference win of the year as they move to 2-4 in UAA games and 12-5 overall.
Senior Ben Pearce had a team-leading 21 points while adding six assists and four rebounds as he was one of four Eagles in double figures. Classmate Jair Knight netted 14 points with seven rebounds and four steals and junior Ethan Fauss recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with game-high five steals. Sophomore Mario Awasum added 12 points as he shot 5-for-7 from the floor.
A Pearce feed for an Awasum dunk led off the scoring on the evening but from there the Bears rattled off 15 unanswered points to put the Eagles in the early deficit. WashU was in front by as many as 15 at 20-5 just 5:22 into the game before Emory started to mount its comeback.
The Eagles continued to cut into the Bears' advantage and brought the score to 34-30 under two minutes remaining in the half with a Fauss triple followed by Knight splitting the defense for fast break bucket. WashU's Jake Davis countered with a three with 21 seconds to go but Pearce was able to knock down a pull up jumper right as the buzzer sounded to make the score 37-32 at the break.
The second half was defined by untimely technical fouls from the Eagles that thwarted a momentum swing as Emory was called for four technicals within a five-minute span. Fauss knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 43-41 game with 15:57 to play but the Bears proceeded to go 11-for-11 from the line over the following 5:23 including eight due to the techs to bump the lead back to double digits at 61-51 with 10:34 remaining in regulation.
The Bears capitalized by turning a 10-point lead into a 20-point margin over the next five minutes. WashU maintained its large lead at 85-65 until a mini 7-0 spurt by the Eagles showed some late life. However, the Bears closed out the game with two more free throws and last-minute layup to provide the 89-74 final.
Emory looks to bounce back Sunday afternoon with a meeting against No. 6 ranked UChicago. The top 10 showdown is set for 3:00 PM ET in Chicago.
