The No. 4 ranked Emory University men's basketball team overcame a first half deficit to defeat Berry College, 74-71, Friday night at The Cage Center in Rome, Georgia.
The Eagles were led by four double digit scorers including a 31-point outing from senior Ethan Fauss and a double-double by junior Mario Awasum with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Harris Jackson poured in 18 points and eight rebounds while dishing out a team-best three assists. Senior AJ Harris played all 40 minutes as he netted 11 points and grabbed six boards.
"We made enough plays to win tonight and showed some resilience down the stretch," said Head Coach Jason Zimmerman. "Some great learning and growing opportunities for individuals and our team. Looking forward to seeing how we can improve for Sunday."
A first half that saw Emory shoot just 8-for-24 from the floor and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc had the Eagles trail by five at the break with Berry leading 31-26. The Vikings shot 38.2% collectively across the opening 20 minutes despite knocking down only two of their 12 attempts from three-point distance.
The Berry lead stayed within two possessions for the beginning of the second half until an Awasum triple put Emory back in front at 53-52 with 9:17 remaining before Fauss followed with three-pointer of his own the next time down the floor.
Fauss was able to extend the Emory advantage to as many as eight with a dunk at the 4:26 mark to make the score 67-59 but the Vikings countered with a 7-1 run to make it a two-point game with under two minutes left in regulation.
After a successful Jackson jumper with 66 seconds to go made it a four-point game, the teams traded free throws during the final minute as Harris and Fauss went 4-for-4 from the line to close out the game prior to Grant Stubbs sinking a last-second heave for BC to provide the 74-71 final margin.
Emory will close out the weekend road swing on Sunday with a meeting at Rhodes College. Tip off from Memphis is set for 3:00 PM.
