For the third time in four games the No. 16 ranked Emory University men's basketball team was pushed to overtime but once again the Eagles held off an upset bid, defeating the University of Chicago 79-75 Friday night in Atlanta.
Senior Mason Johnson was outstanding on the evening, going for a game-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman Jair Knight continued his strong stretch with his sixth straight game in double figures, finishing with 17 to go along with six rebounds and three blocks, including one key rejection towards the end of overtime. Sophomore Cale Martens posted 14 points and seven boards to round out the Emory top performers.
Chicago jumped out to the early advantage, leading the Eagles by six at the halftime break thanks to seven three-pointers while Emory went 1-for-14 from distance. Bryce Hopkins had 12 of his 18 points to lead the Maroons while Johnson and Martens each had eight for the Eagles.
UC maintained its lead in the early goings of the second half before Emory grabbed its first lead since the 18:33 mark of the first half with a pair of Tyson Thomas free throws at the 12:43 mark.
The teams traded leads three times over the next four minutes before a 6-0 run put the Eagles ahead with 7:27 to play in regulation. Despite the quick burst, the Maroons answered with 12-2 counter to move ahead 65-60 with 4:09 showing on the clock.
Sophomore Albert Fallas made a huge play for the Eagles with 2:07 to go, stealing an errant pass by Chicago's Thomas Kurowski and went down the other end for the game-tying layup with contact. Fallas converted the clutch and-one to put Emory back in front 68-67.
In the closing seconds of regulation, UC's Joe Berry drove to the rim but was denied by Martens. Eammon Kenah corralled the offensive rebound and drew contact as a foul was called on Fallas, sending Kenah to the line with 1.0 second to go with a chance to win the game. The raucous WoodPEC crowd helped make Kenah go 1-for-2 at the stripe, sending the game to OT.
The Maroons scored the first points of the extra period but the Eagles saw four straight free throws by Martans and Fallas to regain the lead at 72-70 with 2:57 to go. Fallas and Martens came up with back-to-back blocks on two of the next three UC shot attempts, leading to a beautiful reverse layup by Johnson to give Emory a four-point cushion with 1:33 left.
With the score 77-75, Berry had one last opportunity for Chicago with a driving layup in the closing seconds but a highlight reel block by Knight sealed the win for the Eagles as Pearce clinched the game with free throws down at the other end.
Emory looks to close out the first half of the UAA round robin with a pivotal matchup Sunday afternoon against WashU in a game featuring the two teams at the top of the conference standings. Tip-off from the WoodPEC is set for 12:00pm.