Emory Men's Basketball Races By Wash U - Moves Into Sole Possession Of First Place In UAA

Emory Men's Basketball Races By Wash U - Moves Into Sole Possession Of First Place In UAA

Sophomore Romin Williams topped five double-figure scorers with a game-high 31 points in leading the Emory men's basketball team to a key Friday night home win over Washington University.  The Eagles won for the seventh straight time, increasing its overall record to 17-4 in the process and moving into sole possession of first place in the University Athletic Association with an 8-2 ledger following a 105-82 triumph over the Bears who slipped to 14-7 overall, 7-3 in the league.

Williams spearheaded the high-power Emory attack by hitting 11-of-19 field goal attempts, including five treys in 11 tries, while going four-of-five from the stripe in tying his second-highest career point total. Williams, who dialed up 17 second-half points now has registered double-figure scoring on 18 occasions this year and has eight performances of 20 or more points. 

Williams had plenty of help on the offensive end of the floor with sophomore Matt Davet amassing 18 points, 14 in the opening half, going six-of-11 from the floor, including four-of-six from beyond the arc.  Sophomores Nick Stuck and Matt Schner each contributed 16 points, with Stuck also grabbing a game-high eight rebounds and Schner finishing with six boards and three assists.  Lawrence Rowley closed out Emory's double-digit scorers with 12 points.

Behind a lethal three-point shooting effort that saw it nail 11 triples in 20 tries, Emory checked into halftime ahead by a 57-41 margin, the 13th time this year it scored 50 or more points in a half.  Through the opening nine minutes of action, the Eagles held 29-24 lead, which grew to double digits as a result of an 11-5 spurt that saw both Davet and Schner sink triples and senior Gebereal Baitey pick up five points.  Ahead by a 37-29 count, the Eagles took command with an 18-4 blitz over a five-minute stretch keyed Williams' eight points, six on coming on a pair of triples, and Schner and Davet hitting from beyond the arc, to bolt to a 55-33 advantage with 3:07 left.  Emory still held a 22-point bulge before the Bears finished off the last two minutes on a 6-0 run. 

The Bears narrowed their deficit to 12 points with just under 15 minutes left in the contest, before the Eagles responded with a 12-1 barrage, started by a three-point play by Stuck and capped off by a Williams trey, to take a 78-55 lead with 12:30 on the clock.  WU would make runs that saw it get to within 14 points on three occasions, the final time with 5:15 on the clock,  but with Williams scoring the first five of a 9-0 Emory spurt, the Eagles sealed the outcome in their favor.

Both teams ended the night shooting well from the field, with Emory at 55.7 percent (39-of-70), its second-highest mark of the campaign, while Wash U registered an effort of 56.4 percent (31-of-55). Three-point shooting was the difference as the Eagles rained down 14 treys in 31 opportunities (45.2%) compared to the Bear's effort of 26.7 percent (4-of-15).  Emory enjoyed 37-24 margin in rebounding. Emory's 100 points represented the fifth time this year it had cracked the century mark, tying the 1989-90 team for the second-highest amount of times in a season reaching that mark (the 1988-89 unit holds the record at six contests with 100 or more points).

Emory returns to action on Sunday when it hosts the University of Chicago in a noon tip.