The No. 24 ranked Emory men's basketball team (12-8, 3-6 UAA) hosted the No. 10 ranked NYU Violets on Sunday afternoon in a matchup between UAA foes. While the Eagles held the Violets to just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, an NYU three-point shot with four seconds remaining in the game put the Eagles away, as they fell 81-78.
Sunday's loss marks Emory's third straight loss, all of which coming against conference opponents. The Eagles now sit at 3-6 in conference play, four games behind first-place NYU.
The Eagles were led on Sunday by sophomore guards Ben Pearce and Jair Knight who each put up 19 points. Pearce tacked on seven assists as well. Junior forward Logan Shanahan strung together his sixth double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Violets and Eagles opened the game trading shots, finding themselves leading 10-5 around the 16-minute mark. Knight was on fire to start, scoring eight of the Eagles' first 10 points. NYU's Michael Savarino was quick to answer, though, knocking down a three to spark a 14-0 run. Savarino knocked down two more threes during the Eagles' scoring drought, contributing nine of the 14 points over that span. Yet, the Eagles worked their way back into the game with three pointers from juniors Cale Martens and Albert Fallas and a few strong finishes from Pearce to find themselves behind 21-20 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
The run was short lived, though, as the Violets responded with a 16-6 run over a five-minute period to pull ahead with a 37-26 lead. However, NYU's hot streak came to an abrupt stop and the Eagles took advantage. Freshman AJ Harris and Fallas knocked down a pair of threes to kick off a 16-6 run, this time in the Eagles' favor.
The teams traded shots in the final minute of the half and the Eagles went into the half trailing by two, 49-47. NYU shot just over 50% from the field in the first half and knocked down six of 14 three-point attempts in the first half. Knight led all scorers in the half, with 17 points on 7-8 shooting from the field.
While the Violets may have shot the ball well in the first frame, they came out of the break and couldn't find much success. The Emory defense took away most open looks for NYU, holding the Violets to just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. A flurry of threes from Fallas, Shanahan and freshman Ethan Fauss mixed in with a few two-point field goals saw Emory take a 60-55 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
A pivotal moment occurred with 7:30 remaining when Fauss poked a ball loose and committed a foul while diving in an attempt to recover the steal. With the foul called on the freshman forward, Head Coach Jason Zimmerman received his second technical foul of the contest and was dismissed from the sidelines.
The call provided a spark to the Eagles as the team continued to play suffocating defense while also grabbing a few offensive rebounds to convert a few second chance points over the next six minutes. With 4:38 remaining in the game, the Eagles held a 75-64 lead.
Needing to find an answer on offense, the Violets turned to junior guard Zay Freeney with the game on the line and he delivered. The junior knocked down three three-point shots on consecutive NYU possessions to bring the Violets within four. Emory answered with a few buckets of their own to maintain the lead. Freeney then picked up a foul on a three-point try and knocked down all three free throws, bringing the score to 78-76 in Emory's favor with 28 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing in-bound, Pearce stepped out of bounds while attempting to advance the ball forward, granting the Violets a chance to tie or take the lead. Coming out of a timeout following the turnover, the Violets allowed the play to develop, giving Savarino a look from three. His shot ricocheted off the back iron and Freeney was there to grab the rebound. Freeney capped off his late game heroics with a pump fake to get a defender moving and then drilling a three from the corner to give NYU a 79-78 lead. Freeney scored 15 points and went 4-4 from beyond the arc in the final 4-and-a-half minutes.
With four seconds remaining, Emory was unable to draw up a play to get an open look. The Eagles committed one more foul, allowing the Violets to add a few insurance points to finish the game with an 81-78 victory.
The Eagles will have an opportunity to halt their three-game skid this upcoming weekend with a pair of UAA home games against No. 17 ranked WashU and Chicago. The game against WashU will tip off at the WoodPEC on Friday at 7:30 PM.