The Emory men's basketball team saw a three-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon as it came out on the short end of an overtime decision at Virginia Wesleyan.  The No. 18-ranked Marlins raised their record to 7-4 with a 71-68 triumph over the Eagles who slipped to 7-4.

Sophomore Adam Gigax led the Emory scoring attack with a season-high 16 points, his fifth straight and seventh double-figure effort of the year, ending the contest sinking six-of-11 from the floor, including four triples in six tries.  The senior duo of Will Trawick and Davis Rao each contributed 15 points to the cause with Trawick successful on seven of his nine field goal attempts, while Rao sank four-of-eight from the field and six-of-seven from the charity stripe. 

Nick Doyle paced the Marlins with 19 points, 14 coming in the second half and overtime, including a three pointer with seven ticks on the clock in the extra session that snapped a 68-68 deadlock and that gave Virginia Wesleyan the win.

Virginia Wesleyan battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit and a nine-point obstacle with 5:35 left in regulation in raising its home record to 6-1.   Holding a nine-point lead, 39-30, with 15:59 on the clock following a free throw by Trawick, the Eagles saw the host squad go on a 7-0 spurt to draw to within two points.  Back-to-back buckets by Trawick stretched the Eagles' margin to six points at 45-39 with 11:34 remaining, but five straight VA Wesleyan points, capped by a triple by Doyle, sliced Emory's lead to one point once again.   Holding a two-point lead, the Eagles tallied seven unanswered points, started by a three pointer by Gigax and finished off by a Rao layup, pushed Emory to a 56-47 lead with 5:35 on the clock   A Doyle three pointer kept the Marlins within striking distance, down by five points, but a bucket Trawick extended Emory's cushion to seven points, 59-52, with 3:41 on the clock in regulation.   However, Virginia Wesleyan took advantage of four straight empty possessions by Emory, posting a 6-0 run to creep back to within, 59-58.  A pair of free throws by Rao with 21 seconds gave Emory a three-point lead but a three pointer by Justin Watson with 12 ticks left tied the score at 61-61 and forced the overtime.

In the extra period, Emory led by a 66-63 count with 2:24 remaining after a charity toss by junior Austin DaGue, but five straight VA Wesleyan points, finished off out by a Doyle jumper, gave VWC its first lead of the game with 50 seconds remaining.  A bucket by the Eagles' Jonathan Terry with 35 seconds on the clock tied the score, but Doyle's three pointer proved to be the deciding score as an Emory three-point attempt in the waning seconds missed its mark.

Emory shot a season-high 53.2 percent (25 of 47) from the floor, including 37.5 percent (6 of 16) from three-point range.  Virginia Wesleyan sank 39.4 percent (28 of 71) from the floor and launched 36 attempts from beyond the arc, making eight.  The Eagles converted just 57.1 percent (12 of 21) from the foul line and hampered by 25 turnovers that VWC parlayed into 31 points.   Emory held a 38-35 advantage on the glass and was led by DaGue's eight boards.

Behind 11 points from Gigax and nine from Rao, Emory enjoyed a 34-21 lead at halftime.  The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the game and led by a 19-5 margin with 12:57 left after Gigax knocked down a trey.  Emory drained 59.1 percent (13 of 22) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes of play.

Emory returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 9) when it opens University Athletic Association play by hosting the University of Rochester.