From Emory University Athletics
Senior Will Trawick scored 25 points and the Emory men's basketball team came through with some clutch play down the stretch in battling to a Friday evening win at the University of Chicago. The Eagles won their third straight game and upped their overall record to 12-5, 5-1 in the University Athletic Association with a 69-63 triumph over the No. 11-ranked Maroons, who saw a 13-game win streak come to an end and their overall record slip to 14-3, 5-1 in the conference. Emory and Chicago are tied for the top spot in the league.
Emory never trailed in the game, ending the night shooting 45.6 percent (26 of 57) from the floor, including 40 percent (8 of 20) from three-point range. The Eagles made the most of their trips to the foul nine, draining all nine opportunities, with four of those coming by senior Davis Rao over a tense final 21 seconds of the contest. Chicago was successful on 40 percent (22 of 55) of its field goal attempts, but just 24 percent (6 of 25) from distance. The Maroons were successful on 13 free throws in 18 tries.
Holding a 40-36 lead early in the second half, Emory blitzed the hosts with a 9-0 run, with sophomore Adam Gigax hitting back-to-back triples, followed by a trey from freshman Beau Bommarito, to stake itself to a 49-36 advantage with 15:12 left in the contest. Four straight points by Trawick kept Emory ahead by a dozen points, and the Eagles still enjoyed an 11-point bulge with 11:14 on the clock after a bucket by Austin DaGue. However, the Maroons answered with a 10-0 run that featured a three pointer by Jordan Smith, to draw to within one point. After a jumper by Gigax pushed the Eagles' edge to three points a three pointer by UC's Tyler Howard knotted the score at 57-57 with 7:01 on the clock. A pair of free throws by Whit Rapp, followed by a basket off an offensive rebound by Rao provided Emory with a four-point lead, but UC cut its deficit to one point with just 4:25 left. Chicago had a chance to take the lead but misfired on a three-point attempt with 2:28 remaining, leading to Gigax hitting a big bucket on Emory's ensuing possession to stretch its lead to three points. The Maroons came up empty on their next possession and junior Jonathan Terry's drive to the basket and resulting score stretched Emory's advantage to five points. UC scored the next three points, but Rao sealed the win with his four makes from the line over the final 21 seconds.
Trawick sank a career-high tying 10 field goals in 15 attempts, including three triples in six attempts, en route to chalking up his 13th double-figure scoring performance of the season and fourth of 20 or more points. Trawick also led the team in rebounding with seven boards. Gigax ended the night with 15 points, 10 coming in the second half, hitting six-of-14 field goal tries, including three treys in six opportunities. Rao and DaGue each added nine points while sophomore Whit Rapp doled out six assists.
Trawick turned in a monster first half of action, totaling 19 points on eight-of-11 field goal shooting including three-of-five from beyond the arc. Trawick was successful on his first seven field goal attempts with the last one in that streak giving the Eagles a 24-16 lead with 8:10 left in the half. Holding a 26-20 margin, DaGue scored all five points of a 5-2 Emory spurt that moved it to a 31-22 cushion with just under four minutes left. A Trawick triple with four seconds remaining allowed the Eagles to take a 38-29 lead into halftime. DaGue tallied seven first-half points while Gigax chipped in five points. Emory shot 53.3 percent (16 of 30) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (5 of 6) from distance, compared to Chicago's effort of 34.5 percent (10 of 29) from the floor, 21.4 percent (3 of 14) from three-point range.