Senior Jake Davis scored a game-high 28 points and the Emory men's basketball team used a strong second-half effort in coming away with a Monday-night win over Birmingham Southern.  The Eagles won for the seventh time in eight outings and raised their overall record to 8-3 following a 76-61 decision over the Panthers who fell to 7-3.

Davis, who totaled 16 second-half points, closed out the night sinking seven-of-16 from the floor, including a season-high tying four three-point field goals, and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in notching his seventh effort of 20 or more points.  Senior McPherson Moore (14 pts.) and junior Michael Florin (10 pts.) rounded out the team's double-figure scorers.   Sophomore Will Trawick paced Emory with 10 rebounds, his second double-digit performance of the season, while Davis contributed eight caroms.

After sputtering during the opening 20 minutes, Emory ignited its offensive attack in the second half, knocking down 57.7 percent (15-of-26) of its field goal tries, six-of-11 from beyond the arc, in outpointing BSC by a 47-31 margin.  After never leading and trailing by one point at halftime, the Eagles opened the second stanza in impressive fashion, using a triple by junior Alex Foster and back-to-to-back treys by Davis in a 1:32 span to assume a 38-30 advantage. After the Panthers narrowed the gap to five points, a 7-0 spurt, started by a three pointer by Moore, extended the Eagles' advantage to 45-33 with 15:20 left in the contest.  Emory maintained a 60-52 lead with 7:29 on the clock before a bucket by Davis, followed by a Moore trey, pushed Emory to a 13-point bulge with 6:26 remaining.  The Panthers mounted a last-ditch comeback bid, battling back to a 67-59 deficit with 4:16 left, but Emory closed out the game on a 9-2 spurt to nail down the decision.  BSC went ice cold from the floor in the second half, successful on just 17.2 percent (5-of-29) from the field including just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Emory got out of the blocks slowly, hitting just 24.1 percent (7-of-29) of its field goal tries, including a paltry 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range in the first half.  The Eagles were successful on just one of their first eight from the floor and turned the ball over on three occasions in falling behind by a 13-2 count 5:31 into the game.  The Panthers held an 18-7 cushion with 8:17 left in the half but a 9-3 spurt by Emory enabled it to creep to within five points, 21-16, with 5:40 remaining. After a bucket by Griffin Schamp put the visitors up by a 25-18 count, Davis accounted for five points in a 7-0 Eagle burst that knotted the score at 25-25 with 2:05 on the clock.  BSC would eventually take a 30-29 edge into halftime.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 11) when it opens University Athletic Association play by hosting Rochester in a noon tip.