A big second half powered the Emory University men's basketball team to its second straight win, defeating regional rival Maryville College 79-70 Sunday afternoon in Maryville, Tennessee.
The Eagles showcased a well-balanced scoring attack in the nine-point win with five players scoring in double figures, led by freshman Benjamin Pearce's game-high 19 points. Pearce added a season-high eight rebounds to go along with four assists as he topped the team in all three categories.
Fellow starters Mason Johnson, Cale Martens and Albert Fallas all recorded 11 points or more with Johnson going for 14 points. Freshman Jair Knight had 15 of the Eagles' 24 bench points as he logged a season-high 30 minutes off the bench.
Emory won the battle of the glass 36-22 and shot a season-best 60.8% from the floor (17-for-25 in the second half) while holding the Scots to just 26-for-60 from the field for the game and 12-for-31 in the second half, including a paltry 1-for-14 from three across the final 20 minutes, as the Eagles outscored Maryville 45-29 following the halftime break.
A slow start saw Emory fall behind by 10 within the opening four minutes, trailing 14-4 before the first media timeouts. The Scots maintained their distance for most of the first half prior to the Eagles rattling off 11 straight points to get back within two at 32-30 with 3:10 remaining. Maryville answered with a 9-4 run of its own to head into the locker room with a 41-34 lead.
The Eagles seized control out of the gates to open the second, scoring 13 of the game's first 14 points when play resumed, including a 7-0 run to start the half to knot the score at 41 thanks to a Fallas triple and back-to-back buckets from Pearce and Martens. The Eagles eventually took the lead with a Pearce jumper at 17:20, a lead they would not relinquish.
Emory's lead grew to as many as nine and never saw the lead shrink to less than three over the remainder of the contest. With the lead sitting at 70-62, the Scots scored two quick baskets to make it a four-point game with 3:18 to play but a three-pointer from Pearce followed by a Knight steal and layup put the game out of reach for good.
The Eagles will continue their four-game road trip next weekend as they travel to Waterville, Maine for back-to-back matchups against NESCAC foes Bates College and Colby College.