The 2015-16 Emory men’s basketball program came through with another memorable and exciting season, and in the process further cemented its status as one the top Division III programs nationally.

The Eagles closed out the year with an overall record of 20-8, the fifth time in program history and the fourth under the guidance of head coach Jason Zimmerman that it reached or surpassed the 20-win plateau.  After being picked to finish third in the conference’s preseason poll, Emory captured the University Athletic Association title, the school’s fifth-ever league crown, and third in the past five years, with an 11-3 record.  The 11 wins in league outings tied the program’s second-highest total and marked the sixth time that the Eagles had cracked double-figure wins. Entering the final conference game of the campaign tied with Rochester, the Eagles came away with an 84-75 triumph on the Yellowjackets’ home floor that gave them the undisputed crown and the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA D-III Tournament.

Playing in the postseason for the fourth consecutive year (fifth time ever), Emory hosted and won its first two NCAA tilts, rolling to a 76-51 triumph over Covenant College in its opening encounter before rallying from a seven-point deficit with 6:39 remaining in regulation for an 84-78 overtime victory over Birmingham Southern. The decision over the Panthers sent the Eagles to their third consecutive Round of 16 appearance where it lost at to No. 1-ranked Augustana College. Emory ended the year ranked No. 19 nationally and laid claim to be the only D-III program to have advanced to the Round of 16 or higher the past three seasons.

Emory opened the campaign with three straight wins at home before travelling to Owings Mills, Maryland, to compete in the 4^th Annual Hoopsville Classic. The Eagles met No. 4 St. Thomas (MN) and, after facing three 16-point deficits in the second half, battled back to four points with 4:21 before falling short.  In the Classic finale, Emory clawed back from a pair of 17-point first-half deficits to come away with a 79-75 verdict over host Stevenson.  The Eagles stumbled at the Maryville College Thanksgiving Tournament, dropping double-figure decisions to LaGrange College and the host Scots, but regrouped to post road wins over Guilford College and Oglethorpe, sending the team into winter break with an overall record of 6-3.

Emory split its first two games out of the Christmas holidays, topping Covenant College at home before closing out the non-conference portion of the regular season with a tough overtime setback at No. 18 Virginia Wesleyan. The Eagles got their conference slate off to a good start, holding off Rochester at home before scrapping to a three-point win at No. 15 NYU.  After losing in overtime at Brandeis, Emory got back on track with six straight wins, three of which were by six or fewer points.  Included in the streak were road and home sweeps of Chicago and Washington University, just the second time in the history of the program that an Emory team had accomplished that.  A home loss to the Violets snapped Emory’s winning ways, but a Senior Day Win over Brandeis, followed by a 15-point triumph at Carnegie Mellon raised Emory’s league record to 10-2, good for a first-place tie.  Despite losing at Case Western Reserve, the Eagles remained in a tie for the top spot as Rochester lost to CMU on the same day, which set the stage for Emory’s win in the league finale.

Emory featured a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging in double figures.  In addition, the Eagles used the three-point shot as an important weapon in their arsenal with four players knocking down 40 or more triples including three with 50 or more.  Senior Will Trawick paced the team in scoring with a 15.2 points per-game average, good for ninth place among UAA players. A First Team All-UAA honoree, the 6-foot-5 Trawick reached double-figure scoring in 22 of his 27 appearances and either led or tied for team scoring honors in nine contests.  Chosen by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as a First Team All-South Region performer, Trawick also topped the club in rebounding with a 5.7 per-game effort and converted a team-high 101 free throws.  Career-wise, Trawick finished 14^th all-time at Emory with 1,021 points and 12^th in three-point field goals (125). He attained his 1,000^th career point in the Eagles’ NCAA opening game vs. Covenant College.  

Senior Davis Rao made the most of his final year, averaging 13.3 points per contest that placed second on the team and 11^th on the UAA ladder.  Rao closed the season with a seven-game double figure scoring streak that saw him post three of his four contests of 20 or more points.  A Second Team All-UAA pick, Rao was second on the team with 53 three-point field goals, and his .408 mark (53 of 130) from beyond the arc ranked first on the Eagles’ scoresheet and third in the league.  He chalked up 19 games of double-digit point production and led the team in scoring in eight games including a 23-point contest against BSC in the NCAA Tournament, where his clutch bucket with 34 ticks on the clock knotted the score at 70-70 and forced overtime.  His 82.2 percent effort (97 of 118) from the charity stripe was third in the UAA.  On the school’s all-time lists, he finished first in career games played with 110, 10^th in three-point field goals (131) and eighth in three-point percentage (.391, 131 of 335).

Sophomore Adam Gigax recorded a breakout year, giving opponents plenty of headaches with his long-range shooting ability. A First Team All-UAA choice, the 6-foot-7 Gigax averaged 12.9 points per contest, good for third place on the team and 12^th among UAA players.  A starter in 25 of the Eagles’ 28 games, he posted double-figure scoring on 23 occasions and tallied 20 or more points in five outings.  He drained a team-high 56 three-point field goals, good for a 14^th-place tie on the program’s seasonal chart, and recorded two or more treys in 18 games.  Gigax hit at least one triple in each of the club’s last 19 games of the year, the 10^th-longest streak in program history.

Earning his second straight All-UAA Honorable Mention nod, junior Jonathan Terry provided the team with a scoring and rebounding presence that figured significantly in the Eagles’ success.  Terry scored at a 10.8 per-game clip, fourth on squad, and ranked second in rebounding, grabbing 5.1 boards per outing, placing him 17^th among the league leaders.  Emory’s leading rebounder in 10 contests, Terry snagged seven or more boards on 10 occasions.  Offensively, he came through with 15 double-figure scoring performances and was third on the team with 52 three-point field goals.

Sophomore guard Whit Rapp directed the Emory attack with workman-like precision, with his 164 assists first in the UAA, 11^th nationally and third on the program’s season chart. The owner of five double-figure assists performances, his 5.9 per-game average ranked second in the conference and 14^th nationally.  In addition, his assist/turnover ratio of 3.04 topped all UAA cagers and slotted him 11^th in D-III.

Head coach Jason Zimmerman, along with assistants Chris McHugh, Pete Zaharis, Chad Hixon and Charlie Copp were recognized by their peers and chosen as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.

Other noteworthy accomplishments by the 2015-16 team included:

** Tying the school-record with 256 three-point field goals.  Emory sank 10 or more triples on 12 occasions including a season-high 17 at Guilford College (Dec. 6, 2015), tying the program’s second-highest game total.

** Ranking 45^th national in three-point field goals per game (9.1 tpg).

** Leading the UAA and ranking 36^th nationally in free throw percentage (.747, 401 of 537).

** Having a total of four players earn All-UAA recognition.

** Compiling a 12-1 won-lost mark at the Woodruff PE Center.  At the conclusion of the ’15-16 season, the Eagles had registered a 70-9 record in their last 79 home encounters.  During Zimmerman’s nine years at the helm of the program, Emory has manufactured an 88-25 slate on its home floor. 

** Having the senior class of Will Trawick, Davis Rao, Sam Heery and Evan Coleman graduate with the most wins (81) in school history over a four-year stretch.

Honors and Awards