The No. 5 ranked Emory University men's basketball team moved to 17-3 on the season with a 71-64 verdict against Brandeis University Friday night in Atlanta.
Senior Ben Pearce became the third player in Emory history to eclipse 1,800 points in a career as he posted a game-high 24 points to give him 1,803 in his illustrious career. With five games remaining in the regular season, Pearce trails only Tim Garrett (1,875) and Jake Davis (1,870) on the school's all-time career scoring list.
Pearce was joined in double figures by classmate Jair Knight who had 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds and four assists and junior AJ Harris who netted 14 points and had a team-leading four steals.
Coming off back-to-back grueling overtime wins last weekend, the Eagles were off to a slow start against the Judges on Friday as Emory shot just 37.5% from the floor in the first half and trailed 32-30 at the break. Harris had nine of his 14 points in the first half with classmate Ethan Fauss chipping in with eight points.
In the first half, neither side held a lead of more than four points and the game featured six ties and nine lead changes.
The second half was more of the same closely contested action with seven more ties and five more lead changes over the first 10 minutes out of the break. The Eagles had a five-point advantage at the 14:13 mark following a Knight fastbreak layup off a Brandeis turnover but the Judges countered with a 10-4 run to regain the lead at 51-50 with 11:03 showing on the clock.
A triple by Knight on the Eagles' next possession gave Emory the 53-51 lead which they never relinquished. Brandeis evened the score at 53-53 but a Harris trey but a 9-2 scoring binge including a triple by Pearce gave the home team a 62-55 edge with 5:58 left to play.
The Judges stayed within two possessions of the Eagles over the final minutes of regulation but Emory never saw the lead dip under four the rest of the way to clinch the seven-point victory.
The Eagles have another top-25 matchup on deck as Emory welcomes No. 22 NYU to the WoodPEC for an afternoon showdown starting at 2:00 PM in Atlanta.
