The No. 14 ranked Emory University men's basketball team saw its seven-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon, falling 85-82 to George Fox University in the championship game of the Emory Holiday Classic in Atlanta.
Momo Stokes poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the visiting Bruins to the tournament win while sophomore Jair Knight paced the Eagles with 21 points and grabbed a team-leading 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Knight finished with four assists and three steals to lead the Eagles in both departments. Classmate Ben Pearce notched 19 points with junior Logan Shanahan adding 11. Junior Cale Martens matched Knight with 11 rebounds and freshman Ethan Fauss secured a season-best 10 boards.
In a matchup featuring two of the top-10 scoring offenses in the country, the holiday title bout did not disappoint with both sides combining to post 153 shots across the 40 minutes. However, free throws played a pivotal role in the contest with the Eagles shooting 17-for-24 from the line and the Bruins going 25-for-35, including 3-for-4 in the closing seconds to give GFU the victory.
Despite a slow start, the Bruins were able to build a six-point advantage at the midway mark of the first half but the Eagles quickly answered with a 6-0 burst, tying the game with back-to-back scores from Shanahan and Knight. George Fox once again strengthened its lead, jumping back to a seven-point edge – the largest for either bench in the first half – at 39-32. From there, Emory closed the half on an 11-4 run to trail at the break 44-43.
The second half featured more back and forth play with the lead never swelling by more than six. Emory looked to seize momentum in the late stages of regulation with Knight coming through with a stellar block on a Samuel Stuart IV dunk attempt before Shanahan followed with a put-back dunk to give the Eagles a 78-76 lead with 2:36 to go.
George Fox eventually regained the lead with a Stokes layup to put the Bruins in front 82-80 with 41 seconds left but Knight countered and tied the game with 26 seconds on the clock.
With the seconds dwindling, Stoke dished the ball down low to Stewart IV who drew a crucial foul. Before Stewart IV could go to the line, the Eagles bench was issued a technical foul, which sent Stokes to the line with a chance to take the lead with five seconds left. Stokes nailed both free throws prior to Stewart IV going 1-for-2 to give the Bruins an 85-82 lead.
Emory moved the ball down the court with a halfcourt heave and called a timeout with a 4.1 seconds left to draw up one final play. On the ensuing inbounds pass, George Fox did not allow the Eagles to get a final shot off, forcing the ball away from Pearce to seal the win and handing Emory its second defeat of the year.
The Eagles look to bounce back on Wednesday, January 3rd when they welcome No. 12 ranked and defending national champions Christopher Newport University to Atlanta for the final non-conference game of the season. The mid-week matinee is set to start at 2:00 PM at the WoodPEC.