GAME FACTS – The Emory men's basketball team closes out both the calendar year and a five-game home swing this Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 29-30) when it hosts the Holiday Classic. Joining the Eagles for the Classic will be Oswego State, East Texas Baptist and Denison University. All of the action will take place at the Woodruff PE Center on the Emory campus with the schedule of games listed below.
Dec. 29
2:00 pm – Denison vs. East Texas Baptist
4:00 pm – Emory vs. Oswego State
Dec. 30
2:00 pm – Oswego State vs. Denison
4:00 pm – Emory vs. East Texas Baptist
THE COACHES – Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, 1994) is in his 12th year of patrolling the Emory sideline. Named head coach in April of 2007, Zimmerman came to Emory after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville (2003-04 through 2006-07). Prior to his stint with the Aces, Zimmerman was an assistant at Davidson College for seven years (1996-97 through 2002-03).
During his tenure with the Eagles, he ranks as the program's winningest coach, compiling a school and career record of 201-99. In games played at the Woodruff PE Center, Zimmerman posts a 116-28 ledger and an 85-71 mark in road/neutral settings.
He has guided Emory to nine straight winning seasons and six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). The Eagles are the lone D-III school to have won at least one NCAA contest in each of the past six years.
After going 17-33 his first two years at Emory, Zimmerman has compiled a won-lost slate of 184-66 (.737) since the 2009-10 season.
Jason Leone (Rochester, '99) is in his eighth campaign as the head coach at Oswego State. Heading into Saturday's match-up vs. Emory, Leone has turned in a school ledger of 147-61 and guided the Lakers to four trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 12 years as a head coach, which includes a four-year stay at Keystone, Leone owns a career mark of 218-96.
In his third year as head coach at East Texas Baptist is Brandon Curran (Texas, '97). Curran stands 41-21 while patrolling the Tigers' sideline and saw the program notch 21 victories last season, the second-highest win total in school history.
Bob Ghiloni (Ohio State, '81) has guided the fortunes of the Denison program for 17 years and has amassed 174 wins.
2018-19 RECORDS – Emory enters the weekend with wins in its last three outings, which has boosted its record to 7-2. The Eagles last took to the court on Dec. 11 when they earned a 92-83 triumph over South Region foe Berry College.
Emory is 4-1 in home games and 3-1 in away/neutral contests this season.
Oswego State, a member of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), will invade the Woodruff PE Center with a 9-0 record (4-0 in SUNYAC). The Lakers, who received votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, last played on Dec. 14 when they came away with a 68-50 triumph at home over St. Lawrence. Oswego is 7-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.
East Texas Baptist will meet Denison on Saturday with a won-lost effort of 5-3. In their most recent performance (Dec. 15), the Tigers came out on the short end of a 75-69 verdict at Centenary. ETBU is 2-2 on the road and 3-1 on its home floor.
Denison stands 2-6 through eight contests. The Big Red are coming off a 95-68 setback at the hands of Capital back on Dec. 12.
SERIES RECORDS – When Emory plays both Oswego and East Texas Baptist, it will represent the first time that it has met either school.
EMORY ON THE GLASS – Emory has outrebounded its last four and eight of its nine opponents. The Eagles finished the Berry game with a 37-27 edge on the glass, the fourth time this year they had a double-figure advantage in that category.
Emory is averaging a conference-tying best 43.1 boards per outing including a league-high 15.2 caroms on the offensive end of the floor, which has helped in registering an edge in the second-chance points in six games.
Emory claims three of the UAA's top-12 rebounders, led by sophomore Lawrence Rowley whose 8.9 per-game average is good for the No. 3 spot on the league ladder. Sophomore Matt Schner (6.6 rpg) ranks 10th on the conference ladder while classmate Matt Davet is deadlocked for 12th (6.0 rpg).
The Rowely, Schner and Davet trio have either individually or collectively ranked as the team's top performers in rebound on eight occasions with Rowley leading or tying for club honors in seven outings.
OFFENSE IN AMPLE SUPPLY – Offense has been plentiful for Emory thus far, with the Eagles ranking first among UAA squads and 10th in Division III (through Dec. 22) with a 93.0 points per game average.
Emory has scored 90 or more points in its last three and in a total of six contests this year, and has cracked the 100-point plateau twice. During their current three-game win streak, the Eagles are averaging 101.3 points and shooting 50.2 percent (112-of-223) from the floor.
Emory has employed a balanced scoring attack through its first nine games with five players averaging in double figures. Leading the scoring parade is sophomore Romin Williams at 17.7 points per game, good for the No. 2 spot on the UAA chart. Williams has scored in doubles figures in the last eight games and has four performances of 20 or more points so far this year. Davet is one spot behind Williams on the league ladder at 16.6 points per contest, and has also scored in double figures in eight games, while Rowley, the only Eagle to have scored in double figures in all nine games, finds himself in the No. 9 slot (15.1 ppg). Other Eagles averaging in double figures include senior Gebereal Baitey (11.7 ppg) and Matt Schner (11.3 ppg).
EAGLES AND THE CENTURY MARK – Emory's 116 points vs. Trinity (Dec. 1) established a school record for most points in a game, surpassing the previous mark of 112 set against Sewanee on Nov. 29, 2005. Earlier in the season (Nov. 17), the Eagles dialed up 109 points vs. Keuka College, which at the time tied the program's sixth-highest game total.
In its history, Emory has scored 100 or more points 50 times and claims a 45-5 ledger in such outings. During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory has 19 contests of 100 or more points and stands 18-1 in those games.
EMORY USES THE THREE-BALL – Emory stands first in the UAA and 36th in the D-III ranks (through Dec. 22) with an average of 10.4 three-point field goals per game. The Eagles have converted 10 or more triples on four occasions this season including a school-record 19 in the 116-77 victory over Trinity. The Eagles have been successful on 35.3 percent (94-of-266) of their attempts from beyond the arc, good for the No. 2 spot in the UAA.
The Eagles have had five or more players record three-pointers in four contests this season, highlighted by eight finding their way into the triple column vs. Keuka and seven in the Trinity tilt.
Earlier in the campaign, Emory tied a then-school record with 18 triples against Keuka College (Nov. 17).
ROWLEY FINDS THE MARK – Lawrence Rowley stands first on the team and ninth among University Athletic Association players with a 57.3 percent effort from the floor, converting 51-of-89 field goal attempts. Rowley has shot 50 percent or better on six occasions and has four contests of 70 percent or higher (three at home, one on the road), most recently against Berry College when he nailed seven-of-10 field goal opportunities.
SHARE THE BALL – Emory has displayed a propensity for sharing the basketball with its average of 17.6 assists per game tops in the UAA and 31st among all D-III programs. The Eagles have doled out 20 or more assists twice this year including 29 vs. Trinity (Dec. 1), the third-highest mark in school history.
Sophomore Nick Stuck tops the team and is second in the conference with an average of 4.1 assists per game while Romin Williams holds down the No. 9 position at 3.6 per contest. In addition, Stuck is tied for the No. 3 position in the UAA in assist/turnover ratio (2.5).
WILLIAMS TIES SCHOOL MARK FOR THREE POINTERS – Romin Williams tied a school single-game record when he sank eight three-point field goals against Keuka College (Nov. 17). Williams totaled seven first-half triples en route to racking up 28 points during the opening 20 minutes of play, which helped the Eagles race to a 63-40 halftime lead. He closed out the game with a career-high 32 points, sinking eight-of-18 from beyond the arc in the process and tying Alex Gulotta (vs. Guilford, Nov. 20, 2010) and Richard Somers (vs. LaGrange, Nov. 16, 2001) for the school record.
Williams is averaging a conference-best 3.3 triples per game and has converted three or more from distance in four contests.
STRONG FROM THE STRIPE – Through the first nine games of the season, Emory has been solid from the foul line, connecting at a 77.1 percent (135-of-175) clip, tops among UAA teams and 30th in D-III (through Dec. 22). Emory has converted 73 percent or higher of his foul shots in eight contests this year and has drained 80.7 percent (46-of-57) during its three-game winning streak.
Matt Davet is No. 6 among UAA cagers with a showing of 82.4 percent (28-of-34) from the stripe while Lawrence Rowley stands 10th with an effort of 77.5 percent, sinking a team-high 31-of-40. Romin Williams is in the No. 12 position at 76 percent (19-of-25).
EMORY PICKED AS TEAM TO BEAT IN UAA – Emory was picked as the team to beat in the University Athletic Association in a preseason poll conducted by the league coaches. The Eagles picked up six of the eight first-place votes cast and recorded 48 points. The University of Rochester was tabbed for second, receiving the other two first-place ballots and totaling 42 points.
DID YOU KNOW -- Since the 2010-11 season, Emory has the No. 1 record among UAA teams in overall (169-56) play and the second-best mark in league action (80-32) .… Washington University has the conference's second-best overall ledger (162-57) and the top slate in conference play (83-29) … That Emory has at least one three-point field goal in its last 553 games -- The last time the Eagles failed to convert from beyond the arc came on Feb. 14, 1997, vs. Washington University (0-of-6) … Emory was won 48 of its last 49 games when allowing 69 or fewer points (1-0 in 2018-19, 11-0 in '17-18, 7-1 in '16-17, 13-0 in '15-16, 16-0 in '14-15) … Emory posts a 25-2 ledger in games since the 2016-17 season when it has converted 10 or more three-pointers in a contest (4-0 in '18-19, 10-0 in 2017-18).
NOTES – Romin Williams has three-point field goals in his last 17 games, tying the 13th-longest streak in school history … Williams has ranked as Emory's top scorer on four occasions this year … Career-wise, Williams has produced 10 or more points in 29 of 36 games and has tallied 20 or more points 11 times … Senior Gebereal Baitey posts 92 career steals and has recorded 27 contests with two or more thefts to his credit … Baitey is three thefts shy of tying for 20th place on the school's all-time chart … On the offensive end of the floor, Baitey has five double-figure scoring games this season (31 in his career) … The Eagles have won 40 of their last 41 games at the Woodruff PE Center against non-league foes with the only blemish coming earlier this year against Randolph-Macon (Nov. 25) … Since the 2012-13 season, the Eagles are 104-6 when outshooting the opposition from the floor (5-0 in 2018-19, 16-1 in '17-18, 17-1 in '16-17, 12-3 in '15-16, 18-0 in '14-15) … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory stands 163-20 when leading at halftime (7-1 in 2018-19, 19-1, in '17-18, 13-0 in '16-17; 18-3 in 2015-16) … Emory is 98-12 (.890) over its last 110 home contests … The Eagles have recorded 100 or more points 50 times in program history and own a 45-5 won-lost record in those affairs … During Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach, Emory has 19 contests of 100 or more points and stands 18-1 in such games … The Eagles have outscored the opposition in 12 halves while being outpointed in six … Emory paces the UAA with an average of 8.0 steals per game and has turned in three contests with double-figure thefts including a season-high 15 vs. LaGrange (Dec. 5) … Matt Schner stands as the UAA leader in steals with a 2.0 per-game average … Schner has two or more steals in his last three and in a total of four games this year … The Eagles have scored 50 or more points in a half on five occasions, and their 65 first-half points against Trinity represented the highest total by a Zimmerman-coached team … Emory enjoys a 167-115 edge in the points-off-turnovers category … Emory is averaging 46 points during the first half of play (36.8 for the opposition) and 45.2 in the second half (43.8 for opponents).