From Emory University Athletics
Junior Michael Florin scored a career-high 26 points and senior Jake Davis added 20 points in helping the Emory men's basketball team to a Sunday afternoon road win over Brandeis University. The Eagles captured their sixth win in the past seven decisions and raised their overall record to 12-4, 4-1 in the University Athletic Association, following a 94-88 decision over the Judges who slipped to 9-7 overall, 1-4 in the league.
The victory enabled Emory head coach Jason Zimmerman to tie Brett Zuver (1998-99 through 2006-07) for the school record with 103 career wins.
Florin consistently drove to the bucket throughout the afternoon, ending the contest sinking 13-of-19 from the floor while also dishing out five assists. Florin's field goal total helped him post his 11thdouble-figure scoring effort of the campaign and tied the 15th-highest individual game mark in school history. Davis was successful on seven-of-12 from the floor and six-of-seven from the charity stripe, with four of those makes coming over the final 14 seconds of the contest, in registering his fourth straight and 11th outing of 20 or more points this year. Senior McPherson Moore added 18 points in the victory while junior Alex Foster rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
Emory ended the game shooting a season-high 57.6 percent (38-of-66) from the floor, tying the 10th-highest effort in school history, while knocking down 15-of-18 from the foul line. Brandeis converted 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, including nine three points in 21 attempts, and hit 25 of its 30 opportunities from the foul line. The Eagles finished with a 40-27 edge in rebounding and were paced in that department by Foster's eight caroms while Davis finished with seven boards.
In what proved to be the second-highest scoring contest in the history of the 53-game series, Emory used an 8-1 run, highlighted by a three pointer by sophomore Davis Rao, to take a 65-58 lead with 16:24 left in the game. However, the Judges battled back with a 7-0 spurt of their own to knot the score with 14:51 remaining. A bucket by the Judges' Derek Retos, who finished with 16 points, enabled the home team to claim a 75-73 edge with 10:07 on the clock. Emory responded with seven unanswered points, the first five coming from Foster and the final two a layup by Florin to reclaim the lead at 80-75 with 8:47 on the clock. A jumper by Gabriel Moton, who topped all scorers with 32 points, kept the Judges within striking distance, down three points at 82-79 with 6:50 left, but that would prove to be their final field goal of the game as they missed their last eight attempts. A bucket by Moore gave Emory a 90-84 cushion with 4:34 on the clock, but four three throws by BU sliced the Eagles' lead to 90-88 with just 1:15 remaining. The Judges had a chance to tie or take the lead but misfired on a shot attempt with 16 ticks on the clock. Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled, where he proceeded to hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to push the Eagles advantage to 92-88. On its ensuing possession, BU missed from the floor and Davis sealed the outcome with two more from the stripe.
In a first half that saw both team's offenses in high gear, the Eagles took a 52-51 lead into the break. Florin tied his career high with 16 first-half points, aggressively driving to the bucket, and ended the half successful on eight of his 10 field goal tries. Florin also dished out five assists. Jake Davis knocked down five-of-seven from the floor and a pair of free throws to contribute a dozen points. The Eagles hit on a blazing 66.7 percent (22-of-3) of their field goal tries over the opening 20 minutes of play while the Judges, who were paced by Moton's 19 points, were successful on 48.6 percent (17-of-35). Brandeis also nailed six three pointers in 13 attempts.