The Emory University men's basketball team overcame a second half shooting slump to defeat the Connecticut College Camels, 69-61, in the first game of the Emory Holiday Classic on Thursday afternoon in the Woodruff PE Center.
Freshman Benjamin Pearce paced the Eagles in scoring with 20 points, marking his third career game in which he has eclipsed the 20-point threshold. Pearce also led the Eagles with four assists while putting on a defensive clinic as well with two steals and blocks apiece. Senior Mason Johnson made his presence known on the defensive end putting up two steals and two blocks, as he now holds the team-lead with nine blocks on the season, while also putting up 14 points. Junior Matteo Whelton came off the bench and notched five points including some critical free throws down the stretch.
Both teams struggled shooting from the field as the Eagles held a narrow 35.9 to 34.2 percent shooting edge as the two teams combined for 9-for-45 shooting from behind the arc as well. The Eagles were able to gain an advantage off of turnovers as they capitalized on their opportunities to the tune of 22 points off of the Camels' mistakes to just seven points for Connecticut College. Emory's bench unit gave the Eagles an edge as they outscored the Camels 15-10 in a tightly contested game.
The first half began with the two teams trading blows, however, Pearce made his presence felt early as he scored or assisted on ten of the Eagles first 12 points. Midway through the first half the Eagles went on a 13 point scoring run that busted the game wide open putting Emory ahead 25-11. The Eagles lead ballooned to 19 off a silky turnaround jumper from freshman Jair Knight that put Emory up 37-18. The Eagles would continue their strong play through the end of the period as they carried a 45-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Eagles couldn't buy a bucket for much of the second half as a cold spell saw them begin the second half 3-for-24 from the field allowing the Camels to get within three with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Pearce was able to kick start the offense late in the second half off a stolen pass off an Eagles missed shot that led to an easy layup and a slight momentum shift for Emory. After scoring only six points in the first 14 minutes in the period the Eagles pulled their offense together to score 18 in the final six minutes of the game to keep the contest out of reach for the Camels and give the Eagles the eight-point victory.
With the win over the Camels, the No. 16 ranked Eagles record moves to 8-1 and they will return to action at the Emory Holiday Classic tomorrow at 4:00 PM in the Woodruff PE Center against regional foe Berry College.