The Emory men's basketball team saw a furious rally down the stretch come up short Friday evening as the Eagles suffered a home setback at the hands of Washington University.  The No. 20-ranked Bears upped their record to 10-3 (2-0 UAA) following a 71-63 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 9-4 overall (0-2 in the UAA).  The loss was Emory's first at home in five outings.

Wash U led wire-to-wire in snapping a three-game losing skid to Emory.  The visitors ended the night shooting 48.2 percent (27 of 56) from the floor compared to Emory's 32.4 percent (22 of 68).  Neither team found the touch from long range with the Bears converting just five-of-20 three pointers and Emory eight in 30 attempts. 

Junior Christopher Avant led the Emory attack, picking up a game-high 18 points on five-of-seven field goal shooting and knocking down all eight of his free throws.  It was Avant's ninth double-figure scoring performance of the season and the third time that he ranked as the team's top scorer.  He also grabbed a squad-leading nine rebounds.  Junior Adam Gigax and senior Jim Gordon rounded out the Eagles' double-digit scorers with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Emory entered the second half facing a seven-point deficit and quickly fell behind, 43-30, three minutes and 18 seconds into the stanza. A pair of charity tosses by Avant, followed by a bucket by senior Austin DaGue cut the gap to nine points, but six unanswered points by the Bears stretched their cushion to 49-34 with 13:33 remaining.  After a bucket by Gordon, WU used a 9-3 run, capped by a triple by Jake Knupp, to claim what seemed to be an insurmountable 58-39 bulge with 8:22 on the clock.   Wash U still maintained a 15-point advantage, 64-49 with 5:11 left, but Avant scored eight points during an 11-2 spurt that gave Emory life, trailing by just six points, 66-60 with 1:34 remaining.  Some shaky free throw by the Bears that saw them miss seven in a row at the stripe over a 73-second stretch kept Emory alive, but it was stymied as it missed three field goals tries in that span.  WU finally regained its shooting eye at the foul line, converting five straight that upped its lead to 71-60 with four ticks on the clock.

Emory returns to action on Sunday (Jan. 15) when it hosts Chicago in a noon pm tip.