The No. 18 ranked Emory University men's basketball team pulled out an impressive victory over No. 8 Washington University, 67-57, Friday night in St. Louis to mark the team's eighth straight victory.
Emory inches closes to another conference crown as it extends its UAA lead to 2.5 games with four games remaining in the season. The Eagles now stand 9-1 in the league, 16-4 overall, while the Bears slip to 16-4 and 6-3 in the UAA.
Senior Matthew Schner was up to his usual brilliance as he contributed 20 points on 14 shots to go along with nine rebounds as he played all 40 available minutes in this game. Schner has led the Eagles in scoring in every conference game this season and has scored 20 points or more in eight of the 10 conference matchups. Senior Nick Stuck poured in 13 points of his own on 60% shooting from three point range. Freshman Logan Shanahan led all players off the bench for Emory with nine points and three rebounds plus the emphatic three pointer in the final minute of the game to slam the door shut on the Bears.
The Eagles had an impressive shooting day from deep, as they recorded a mark of 41.4% on 12 total makes from behind the arc. The Eagles took advantage of their transition opportunities, outscoring the Bears 15-4 on fast break points. While WashU outrebounded Emory on the offensive glass 9-5, the Bears were unable to capitalize on those opportunities as they scored the same number of second chance points as the Eagles at nine apiece. The Eagles have been reliable playmakers all season, whipping the ball around the court to the tune of 14 assists as a team.
The Eagles came out of the gates firing, going on a quick 6-0 run, highlighted by four gritty points from junior Max Fried. WashU would battle back, taking the lead for the first time in the game just past the ten minute mark in the first half off a three point bucket from guard Charlie Jacob. The Eagles wouldn't let them hold that lead for long though as they made their next three baskets all of which were three pointers to make it a four point lead for Emory. The remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth affair that would see the Bears take a one-point lead (34-33) into the locker room at halftime.
The Bears came into the second half on a mission and would take their largest lead of the game just over six minutes into the half at 48-42. That wouldn't last though as the Eagles quickly responded with a 10-0 run featuring two big time three pointers from Schner to give the Eagles a 52-48 advantage. Emory would not trail again, keeping the game out of reach with their gritty play on the defensive end and their proficiency from behind the three point arc on the offensive end.
Emory takes the court again on Sunday at 12:00 PM CST when they travel to Chicago, IL to take on the Maroons of Chicago University, who they defeated earlier this season by a score of 83-68.