The Emory University men's basketball team returned to the win column Tuesday evening, trouncing the Covenant Scots 97-63 in the Woodruff PE Center to head into the Thanksgiving break with a tidy 3-1 record.
Freshman Benjamin Pearce had the best day of his young career scoring a team season-high 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting including a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. Sophomore Cale Martens had a standout day of his own notching 21 points on an equally efficient 6-for-7 shooting while knocking down his lone three-point attempt of the evening. Freshman Jair Knight had his second double-digit scoring effort of the season as he scored 11 points off of the bench including two emphatic dunks which have become a staple of his play with the Eagles. Freshman Tyson Thomas showed off his skillset as he led Emory in assists with five off the bench while also scoring four points and pulling down four boards.
The Eagles were lights out from the field all night long as they shot an efficient 52.4% from the floor while also hitting a remarkable 42.3% of their threes. Emory was the more physical of the two teams as they outrebounded Covenant 43-23 which led directly to the Eagles 40-16 scoring advantage in the paint. The Eagles bench was also a major factor in the 34-point drubbing as Emory's bench unit outscored Covenant's by 30 over the course of the night. All 14 players that suited up for the Eagles recorded at least two points on the night.
The Scots came out firing as they jumped out to an early 13-4 lead thanks to strong play from Covenant's Promise Igbanu and Malcolm Noel but the happy times wouldn't last long for the Scots. The Eagles quickly turned the tables, gaining their first lead of the game at 16-15 on a simple Martens layup and wouldn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the contest. A 14-0 run to close the first half, highlighted by a period-ending steal and fastbreak layup from Thomas, would put the Eagles up 52-28 heading into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same as the Eagles quickly stretched their lead out to 30 thanks to a 6-0 run to start the half thanks in large part to the stellar play of Senior Mason Johnson. It was smooth sailing for Emory the rest of the way as they didn't let the Scots within 27 points for the rest of the match as the Eagles pulled out the 97-63 victory.
The Eagles will enjoy their Thanksgiving holiday before taking to the road on Sunday, November 27th when they will travel to Maryville, TN for a contest against the Maryville Scots at 3:00 PM.