Seniors Matthew Schner and Nick Stuck led the No. 20 ranked Emory University men's basketball team to a come-from-behind overtime victory against Brandeis University Friday evening, defeating the Judges 86-80 at Red Auerbach Arena in Waltham, MA.
The Eagles erased a 19-point deficit over the final 12:22 minutes to earn their sixth consecutive win, bringing the team's overall record to 14-4 and 7-1 inside the University Athletic Association. Brandeis drops to 9-5 on the season and 2-3 in conference play.
Emory saw itself trailing 58-39 following a Ryan Power three-pointer before flipping the script and outscoring Brandeis 31-12 across the rest of regulation. For an eight-minute stretch, the Eagles held the Judges to just two points, going on an 11-2 run thanks to seven points from freshman Logan Shanahan to cut the Brandeis lead to 61-50 with 4:24 left to go.
From there, the Eagles turned the keys to the comeback over to Stuck and Schner as the senior duo scored Emory's final 20 points to help send the game to overtime.
Down 64-57 with 39 seconds to play, Schner sank a three-pointer to make it a four-point game but free throws by Tommy Eastman pushed the Judges advantage back to six with 28 ticks left. Back-to-back Stuck layups sandwiched around two more converted free throws by Eastman had the score 68-64 with only 11 seconds on the clock.
Brandeis' Dylan Lien was fouled on the ensuing possession but made just one of his two attempts, giving the Eagles life. Back down the court, a costly foul on Schner attempting a three put the senior at the stripe where he knocked down all three shots, bringing Emory within two at 69-67 with five seconds left.
A quick foul by junior Max Fried sent Eastman to the line with a chance to clinch it but missed his first attempt before making the second to give the Judges a 70-67 edge with Emory inbounding and having to go the length of the court.
Stuck took the inbounds pass from Shanahan, dribbled across halfcourt to the top of the arc and launched a shot in front of two defenders prior to the horn sounding. His shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net to force the game into overtime tied at 70.
In the extra session, freshman Albert Fallas had five of the team's 16 points as the Eagles outscored Brandeis 16-10. Fallas, Stuck and senior Romin Williams all went 2-for-2 from the line during the final minute of overtime to help put the game out of reach.
Schner finished with 25 points with Stuck going for a career-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Schner added seven rebounds and six assists while Shanahan had 12 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high five blocks. Fallas contributed 12 points as the Eagles other double-digit scorer.
Eastman poured in a career-high 35 points as he was one of three Judges in double figures. Collin Sawyer registered 13 points and Power had 11 off the bench.
The Eagles carry their winning streak into Sunday's matchup against NYU in Brooklyn, NY. Tip-off from St. Francis College is set for 12:00 PM.