On an evening when Emory Athletics paid recognition to the recent successful seasons of the women's golf, women's soccer and men's soccer programs, the No. 7 ranked men's basketball team lived up to the night's excitement as the Eagles pulled out a 81-72 overtime thriller against the No. 20 ranked WashU Bears in front of a standing-room only crowd at the WoodPEC in Atlanta.
Senior Ben Pearce and junior Ethan Fauss led five Emory scorers in double figures as they tied for the team lead with 16 points each. Fauss added 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double to go along with a career-high six blocks while Pearce added nine assists as he added to his NCAA Division III lead. Junior AJ Harris and senior Jair Knight each poured in 15 points and sophomore Harris Jackson was stellar in an extended look off the bench with 13 points including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range in 34 minutes. The trio combined for 24 rebounds on the glass.
Looking to bounce back following the Bears' 15-point win last Friday, the Eagles came out of the gates with vengeance on the mind as Emory held an 18-4 lead 7:18 minutes into the contest. WashU did not go quietly however as they were able to make it a four-point game at 32-28 with 3:40 remaining in the first half. Fauss and Knight though contributed to an Emory 5-2 run over the final moments of the half to give the Eagles a 37-30 halftime lead.
The second half continued to be hotly contested as the Bears whittled the Emory advantage to one at 41-40 four minutes into the half but a 6-0 counter from Pearce and Harris pushed EU back in front by seven.
The Eagles maintained the lead until the Bears leveled the score at 52-52 with 8:22 remaining in regulation but Jackson sank the first of his two clutch second-half triples to put the home team ahead by three. The game saw even scores again at 55, 57 and 59 before a 7-0 burst by the Bears applied pressure on the Eagles at 66-59 with 3:17 left to go.
The Eagles showed resilience as a 5-0 run including a Jackson trey put the deficit at one at 66-65 but free throws from WashU's Connor May had the visitors leading 68-65 with 79 seconds showing.
A raucous dunk by Jackson with 65 seconds left made it 68-67 and then in the closing seconds Pearce was sent to line with a chance to win the game but made only one of his two attempts, sending the game into overtime knotted at 68.
Jackson opened the overtime session with his third three-pointer of the evening before a six-point swing from Harris gave the Eagles a 77-72 lead with 1:13 remaining. Following the individual run by Harris, Fauss and Pearce proceeded to go 4-for-4 at the line over the final minutes of the contest to seal the nine-point win.
The Eagles look to continue their bounce back weekend on Sunday when Emory hosts No. 1 Chicago. Tip off in Atlanta is set for 2:00 PM.
