The No. 14 ranked Emory University men's basketball team won its sixth straight game Thursday night, defeating Oglethorpe University 98-78 in the crosstown matchup in Brookhaven.

Sophomore Ben Pearce poured in a season-high 23 points as he led five Eagles in double figures. Joining him in double digits were classmate Jair Knight with a second straight 19-point outing, junior Logan Shanahan with 18, and freshman AJ Harris and junior Albert Fallas with 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Pearce, who entered the game third in Division III with 7.0 assists per game, added to that total with six assists while Shanahan grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds as he notched his third consecutive double-doubles.

Playing for the first time in 12 days, the Eagles were locked in a tight one in the early stages leading 20-19 midway through the first half. Over the next three minutes, the Stormy Petrels used an 8-2 run to gain their largest lead of the half at 29-22 with 7:12 to play.

From there the Eagles shifted into gear with Knight kickstarting a 21-11 run to end the half with a three-pointer at 6:58. Emory regained the lead with a Shanahan free throw at 3:01 followed by a Pearce three at 2:35, one of his five triples on the night as he tied a career-high.

Oglethorpe kept pace across the final minutes of the half and saw the score tied before Harris drained a corner three with time expiring to send the Eagles into the locker room in front 43-40.

Emory rode the last-second shot momentum into the second half, beginning with a 12-2 run over the first 1:58. Oglethorpe cut the lead to seven at 56-49 with 16:05 remaining but a 5-0 run from freshman Ethan Fauss put the Eagles back in front by double figures and would not see their lead dip below 10 for the rest of the night. Emory led by as many as 25 before settling on the final margin.

A difference in the contest was the three-point comparison with the Eagles sinking a season-high 15 threes, going 15-for-35 from beyond the arc, while limiting the Stormy Petrels to 4-of-19 shooting from long range. The Eagles, who began Thursday with a nation-best 21.4 assists per game figure, doled out 21 assists – their sixth game this season over the 20-assists mark – and finished the game shooting 47.2% from the floor.

Emory will be off for the next two weeks to enjoy the holidays before returning to the court with the Emory Holiday Classic on December 29 and 30 in Atlanta. The Eagles open the home classic with a meeting against Mary Washington at 4:00 PM.