Juniors Romin Williams and Matt Schner combined for 48 points in leading the Emory men's basketball team to a Tuesday evening win at Berry College. The No. 6-ranked Eagles raised their record to 2-0 following a 99-85 triumph over the Vikings who slipped to 1-1.
Williams topped all players with 27 points, 17 coming in the second half, ending the night nine-of-19 from floor, including five-of-12 from three-point range, and four-of-five from the charity stripe. Schner converted five-of-nine of his field goal tries, went a perfect four-of-four from beyond the arc and sank seven of his 10 opportunities from the foul line en route to a 21-point night. The Williams and Schner combo were part of a balanced scoring attack that saw six players crack double figures.
Emory used a strong offensive effort during the final 20 minutes, hitting 58 percent (18-of-31) of its field goal attempts and 64.2 percent (9-of-14) from distance in posting a 51-39 scoring advantage over the Vikings. Williams was successful on five of his eight three pointers in the second half and six of 10 overall from the floor.
Holding a 61-59 lead early in the second stanza, Emory rattled off a 14-5 burst that saw Williams knock down a triple and junior Lawrence Rowley hit a couple of buckets to move to an 11-point cushion with 11:34 on the clock. The Vikings regrouped and scored the game's next eight points, six via a pair of three-pointers by DJ Estes, to claw back to within a 75-72 margin. Emory responded with a 12-2 charge, started by a Williams' trey and fueled by five points from sophomore Clay Washburn to bolt to an 87-74 bulge with 7:30 left. Berry then ran off seven unanswered points before back-to-back treys by Williams and Matt Davet pushed Emory back to a 13-point lead with just under four minutes on the clock.
For the game, Emory outshot Berry from the floor, 54.2 percent (32-of-59) to 51.7 percent (30-of-58), and was successful on 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from distance compared to the Vikings' mark of 36.4 percent (8-of-22). The Eagles enjoyed a 35-29 advantage in the rebounding department with Schner pulling down a team-high seven boards. Davet chipped in 17 points, converting five-of-seven from the floor, three-of-four from beyond the arc, while Rowley added 13 points, nine coming in the second half. Washburn and junior Nick Stuck rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Stuck dishing out seven assists and registering three steals
Behind 15 points from Schner and 10 from Williams, Emory held a 48-46 edge at the break. The Eagles trailed by a 41-36 margin with 4:29 left in the stanza after a three-pointer by the Vikings' Dawson Wehunt, but closed the half on a 12-5 spurt, with Williams and Rowley each picking up four points in that stretch. Emory shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the floor during the opening 20 minutes while Berry turned in a mark of 54.5 percent (18-of-33). Both squads hit four triples, but Emory held a wide edge at the charity stripe, sinking 16-of-20 compared to BC's six-of-10. Berry got out of the blocks quickly, racing to a 12-4 edge just three minutes into the contest before an 11-0 Eagle surge, keyed by a pair of three-pointers by Schner gave it a 15-12 lead. A layup by Rowley kept Emory ahead by a three-point margin, 21-18, but a 10-2 Berry run allowed it re-claim the lead at 28-23 with nine minutes left.
Emory returns to action next Wednesday (Nov. 20) when it hosts Sewanee in a 7:00 pm start.