Seniors Christopher Avant and Adam Gigax combined for 38 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory men's basketball team saw a furious second-half rally come short in a Saturday afternoon setback at LaGrange College.  The Eagles saw their record dip to 2-1 following an 84-74 decision to the Panthers who improved to 2-1.

 Avant finished with 21 points, his third-highest career total, ending the contest converting 10-of-14 field goal attempts and a free throw opportunity.  Gigax scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, winding up the game sinking six-of-14 field goal opportunities, including four triples in eight tries.  Junior Geberal Baitey came through with his second double-figure scoring performance of the young season, registering 13 points while also leading all players with three steals.

Trailing by a 44-37 count early in the second half, Emory saw the Panthers go on a 7-0 spurt that doubled their cushion to 14 points, 51-37, with 17:27 on the clock. LaGrange eventually took their biggest lead of the day at 16 points, 56-40, with 15:02 remaining after a three-pointer by Lincoln Anderson.  The Eagles began the long march back with an 11-2 blitz, with Avant scoring six points and Gigax nailing a three-pointer in that stretch, to draw to within seven points with 12:24 left.  A pair of free throws by Jamison McCray pushed the host's edge to 65-56 with 8:49  remaining, but seven consecutive Emory points, ignited by a three-pointer by freshman Clay Washburn sliced the Eagles' obstacle to just two points.  After a LaGrange bucket, four straight points by freshman Romin Williams knotted the score at 68-68 with 4:26 on the clock.  After falling behind by three points, a Gigax trey deadlocked the score at 73-73 with 3:21 on the clock.  A three-point play by Avant provided Emory with a 78-77 edge with 54 ticks on the clock, but the Eagles would miss their final three field goal attempts and turn the ball over once while LaGrange would score the final seven points of the game down the stretch, to come away with the victory.

LaGrange finished with an advantage in field goal shooting, hitting 48.3 percent (29-60) from the floor vs. Emory's mark of 43.1 percent (31-72).  The Panthers connected on 42.1 percent (8-19) of their field goal tries while Emory finished at 25 percent (6-24).  LaGrange also held a 44-34 advantage in rebounding.

After a bucket by Nick Stuck gave the Eagles a 25-21 lead with 8:11 left in the first half, the Panthers rattled off 14 straight points, capped by a Julian Cameron jumper, to take a 10-point edge with 3:56 left in the stanza. LC held a 39-28 cushion, but the Eagles closed out the final two minutes of the half on a 7-3 spurt, with Christopher Avant scoring five points to cut the deficit to seven points, 42-35, heading into the break.  Avant led the Emory scoring attack with nine points, sinking four-of-five from floor and his lone free throw attempt, while Baitey chipped in seven points.  LaGrange connected on 48.5 percent (16-33) of its field goal attempts, including 62.5 percent (5 of 8) from three-point range, compared to Emory's 44.1 percent (15-of-34).

Emory returns to action on Sunday when it plays Maryville College on Sunday on the LaGrange campus in a 2:00 pm start.