Emory juniors Matthew Schner and Lawrence Rowley each scored 19 points, but it wasn't enough as Brandeis senior Eric D'Aguanno hit a shot with less than a second remaining to give the Judges a Sunday afternoon win. The Eagles saw their overall record fall to 12-2, 1-1 in the University Athletic Association, after coming up short by a 75-73 count to Brandeis who improved to 11-3 overall, 3-0 in the conference.
Facing a 73-67 deficit with 1:27 on the clock, a layup by Schner drew the Eagles to within four. After forcing a five-second violation, the Eagles narrowed the gap to two points after Rowley converted a pair from the foul line. On its ensuing possession, Brandeis turned it over on a shot-clock violation, which led to Romin Williams knotting the score after he calmly knocked down a pair from the stripe. With the clock winding down, the Judges Chandler Jones drove the lane and attempted to put up a shot that was blocked. The ball came to D'Aguanno whose toss from the foul line area found its mark with eight tenths of a second remaining.
Both Schner and Rowley converted eight-of-16 field goal attempts and one one three-pointer in recording their 13th and 11th double-figure scoring performances of the year, respectively. Williams rounded out Emory's double-digit scorers with 16 points. Leading Brandeis in scoring was Nolan Haggerty with 21 points while Chandler Jones added 19.
An 11-4 start to the second half, gave the Judges a 45-36 lead, their first of two nine-point cushions they would enjoy in half, the final coming with 12:04 on the clock when a Haggerty basket put BU up b y a 54-45 margin. The Eagles then produced a 13-4 tear, tying the game at 58-58 with 7:22 remaining. After a D'Aguanno bucket, Rowley came through with back-to-back baskets that put Emory ahead, 62-60. The Judges reclaimed the lead when Jones hit a triple in the waning seconds of the shot clock, but a pair of Matt Davet free throws gave the Eagles a one-point edge with 4:27 left. A Rowley trey with 4:07 left tied things up at 67-67, but BU scored the game's next six points that set the stage for the down-to-the-wire finish.
For the game, Brandeis shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the floor while Emory connected on 40 percent (28-of-70). Neither team shot the ball well from three-point range, with the Judges sinking four-of-15 and the Eagles, three-of-17. The rebounding battled was tied at 41 with Rowley and Schner pacing Emory in that category with nine caroms each.
Brandeis took a 34-32 lead into halftime, thanks in part to shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field while Emory connected on just 38.5 percent (15-of-39), The Eagles' stuggled from both three-point range (1-of-9) and the charity stripe (1-of-6) but offset that by scoring nine points off a dozen BU turnovers. Emory used a 14-3 burst, which saw Rowley, Williams and Mason Johnson score four points, to move to a 16-12 edge with 11:10 remaining in the frame. After a Williams drive to the rim pushed the Eagles to a 23-18 advantage, Brandeis regrouped with a 10-2 run, sparked by six points by Eric D'Aguanno, to bolt to a 28-25 lead with 4:47 left. Williams scored nine points while Rowley chipped in eight.
Emory returns to action on Friday (Jan. 24) when it plays host to Carnegie Mellon in an 8:00 pm tip.