The No. 23 ranked Emory University men's basketball team earned its first conference victory of the 2023-24 campaign Sunday afternoon, taking care of business on the road with an 84-72 win against the University of Chicago at the Ratner Athletic Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Sophomore Jair Knight poured in a game-high 22 points to lead all five Emory starters in double figures as the Eagles improved to 10-4 overall and now stand 1-2 in the UAA standings, only one game back of first as the team returns to Atlanta. Sophomore Ben Pearce and freshman Ethan Fauss each finished with 15 points while junior Cale Martens had 13 points and tied classmate Logan Shanahan for the team lead with seven rebounds. Thomas Kurowski scored 20 points for the Maroons as Chicago dropped to 9-5 overall and 1-2 inside conference play.

The Eagles opened the game with a 9-5 advantage before the Maroons used a 10-0 run to seize the lead the early stages of the half. It wasn't until a Fauss three that gave the Eagles the lead again at 22-21 with 8:44 to play, sparking a 10-2 Emory run. The Maroons battled back to even the score at 33 but Emory would close the half with 10-3 run to lead at the break, 43-36.

The Eagles torched the nets following halftime, scoring 12 of the game's 14 points to start the second half to move ahead of double digits. Emory kept a sizeable edge for the remainder of the game but saw Chicago cut the deficit to 10 with 8:26 to play. Dagger threes however from junior Albert Fallas and Martens at the 6:39 and 5:40 marks helped maintain the Eagles' double-digit lead.

Following the Martens triple that pushed Emory in front 78-63 with 5:40 to go, the Eagles led by as many as 17 points before landing on the 84-72 final margin.

Emory had its best UAA shooting performance, posting a 51.6% mark from the floor (32-for-62) and sank 11-of-26 from beyond the arc. Chicago shot just 27-for-66 (40.9%) and were 9-for-32 from three. The Eagles held the rebounding edge, 36-35, and forced 12 turnovers compared to 11 of their own.

Next up for the Eagles will be No. 5 ranked Case Western Reserve as the Spartans visit Atlanta for a 7:30 PM tipoff on Friday, January 19.