The Emory University men's basketball team won its fourth straight game on Sunday, defeating Colby College 80-66 as part of the UAA/NESCAC Challenge in Waterville, Maine.
The Eagles now stand 6-1 following their 2-0 weekend as part of the Challenge while the loss was the first for the Mules this season, dropping them to 8-1.
Senior Mason Johnson powered the team to the win, scoring 22 of his career-high 26 points in the second half as Emory outscored Colby 49-32 after halftime en route to the 14-point win. Johnson added a career-high 10 rebounds for his first-ever double-double. He knocked down eight of his nine field goal attempts and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the line across the game's final 20 minutes.
Freshman Benjamin Pearce tied a career-high with his 21-point outing while classmate Jair Knight led the Emory reserves with 13 points. Pearce and Knight combined for 25 points in the second half and scored the team's final seven points to seal the win.
The Mules jumped out to an early lead to start the game, leading 13-2 through the opening five minutes of play but over the following five minutes the Eagles were able to seize back momentum, tying the game at 17 with 10:05 remaining in the half. Emory eventually grabbed its first lead of the contest on a Logan Shanahan three at 4:55 to move in front 27-26 but the back-and-forth half continued and saw Colby head into the locker room with a 34-31 lead.
The even play continued to start the second half, leading to a Knight driving layup at 14:36 to give Emory the lead back at 48-46. The layup was part of a massive scoring run for the Eagles that started when they trailed by four and marked a huge turning point in the contest. Following Knight's basket, Emoy continued its scoring burst, outscoring the Mules 15-0 to move in front 57-46 and held Colby scoreless for nearly six minutes of game action.
The Mules ended the run with two threes to cut the lead to 57-51 but the Eagles responded with a mini 6-0 burst to go back ahead by 12. Colby cut the lead to six once more at 65-49 with 4:13 to play but would not get any closer as the Eagles once again rattled off six straight and did not miss a free throw down the stretch to clinch the win.
Emory will head to LaGrange for a meeting with the Panthers Wednesday night in the last game before the break. Tip off at LaGrange is scheduled for 7:30pm.