Junior McPherson Moore scored 19 points but it wasn't enough as the Emory men's basketball team saw a late rally come up short against Brandeis University Friday evening.  The Eagles saw their five-game winning streak snapped and record slip to 13-5 overall, 5-3 in the University Athletic Association, following a 72-67 setback to the No. 25-ranked Judges who upped their mark to 15-4, 6-2 in the league.

Moore, who scored 13 points during the second half of action, ended the contest converting six-of-12 from the floor, along with all six of his free throw opportunities, en route to registering his 13^th double-figure scoring effort of the year.  His six makes from the charity stripe ran his streak to 37 straight from the foul line, tying the second-longest mark in school annals.  After a slow first half that saw him saddled with two fouls, junior Jake Davis totaled 15 points, 13 in the second stanza, while seniors Alex Greven and Michael Friedberg rounded out the squad's double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The loss negated an Emory comeback that saw it almost overcome an 11-point deficit with 3:56 left in the game.  Trailing by one point, 52-51, with 7:01 on the clock following a triple by Davis,  The Eagles were staggered by an 11-1 burst by the Judges, started by a three pointer by Alex Stoyle, who finished with a game-high 27 points, and then followed by eight-of-eight free throw shooting that pushed the home team a 63-52 advantage. Moore started the Emory rally with a three pointer which was followed by a pair of foul shots by Davis, cutting the gap to six points with 3:13 remaining.   The Eagles drew to within five points on four occasions including with 1:13 on the clock following a bucket by Davis.  After a Brandeis turnover, Moore scored on a layup that drew Emory to within a 70-67 count with 51 ticks left.  On its subsequent possession, Brandeis missed from the floor and Emory grabbed the rebound but misfired on its shot opportunity.  Stoyel grabbed the miss and then sank a pair from the foul line with six-tenths of a second left to close out the game's scoring.   Moore and Davis combined for 26 of Emory's 41 second-half points with 13 points apiece while sophomore Michael Florin scored all nine of his points over the final 20 minutes of play.

Emory ended the contest shooting 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the floor while Brandeis checked in at 47.9 percent (23-of-48), including 57.1 percent in the second half.  The Eagles struggled to find the mark from three-point range, converting just three-of-15 from distance while the Judges sank six in 17 attempts.  Free throw shooting played a role in the outcome with BU finishing with an 87 percent showing (20-of-23) and Emory coming in at 70.6 percent (12-of-17).  Brandeis enjoyed a 39-30 edge in rebounding and was paced in that category by Stoyle who snagged 13 boards.  Moore and freshman Will Trawick each chalked up five rebounds for Emory.  Ben Bartoldus added 20 points for the Judges.

Using an 11-5 run over the last 3:43 of the first half, Brandeis erased a three-point deficit and took a 29-26 lead into halftime.  Friedberg led the Emory scoring effort over the opening 20 minutes with eight points, hitting four-of-five from the floor, while Greven and Moore added seven and six points, respectively.  The Eagles connected on 32 percent (11-of-34) from the field while the host Judges were successful on 41 percent (11-of-27) of their opportunities.  Stoyle was the top scorer for BU with 14 points.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Feb. 3) when it plays at New York University.