The Emory University men's basketball team is on its way to its first-ever Final Four appearance in program history as the Eagles secured a dramatic 83-78 victory over Illinois Wesleyan University Thursday afternoon at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Senior Ben Pearce made possibly the biggest shot in Emory basketball history as his game-winning three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left clinch the win for the Eagles and send Emory onto the national semifinals.
The Eagles will look to earn a spot in the national championship game when Emory battles Christopher Newport University at 5:30 PM on Saturday. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
Pearce was one of four Eagles in double figures as he finished with 21 points in 40 minutes while adding a team-high five assists. Senior Jair Knight led all Emory scorers with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting and was joined in double figures by junior AJ Harris and sophomore Mario Awasum with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Pearce, Knight and junior Ethan Fauss had the Eagles cooking early on as the trio sank the team's first four attempts from distance to establish a 14-8 lead before going into the game's first media ahead 18-15 at the 13:16 mark. The Titans pulled to within one but a highlight reel alley-oop from Pearce to Knight followed by another Fauss trey had Emory back in front by six.
IWU continued to keep pace until an 11-1 Emory run sparked by Harris and Awasum extended the Eagles edge to 34-26. Emory's lead extended to as many as 11 in the opening half as a Harris triple made it 44-33 with 2:36 to play prior to the break but Illinois Wesleyan closed the half strong to slash the Eagles' lead to 47-43 at halftime.
In the return to the second half, play remained close through the first media timeout before Emory surged ahead with another run and led by as many as 10 when Knight sank a three-pointer to make it 70-60 with 8:52 remaining.
The Titans, led by Mason Funk, continued to battle and would not go away as IWU brought the game back to a one possession contest with under three minutes to play.
Pearce and Funk traded baskets at the rim as the game was deadlocked with under a minute to go. Knight made two key free throws with 44 seconds on the clock but IWU's Noah Cleveland answered with two successful makes to level the score at 78 with 22 seconds left.
Pearce took the inbound pass and waited as the clock dwindled before running the final play. Using a screen by Awasum, Pearce was able to gain separation and launch a running off-balance three at the top of the arc that went through the net with 1.4 on the clock.
A turnover on the ensuing in-bounds pass sent Awasum to the line where he sealed the win with two successful attempts at the line.
With the win, the Eagles establish a new program record with 26 on the season, surpassing the 1989-90 team for the most in a single season. Emory will be looking to add to its current total Saturday evening in Fort Wayne.
