From Emory University Athletics

Junior Will Trawick's two free throws with 53 seconds left in the game gave Emory the lead for good, and the Eagles held on to post a victory over Stevenson University in the second day of action at the Hoopsville Classic in Owings Mills, Md.  The Eagles upped their overall record to 4-1 following a 79-75 verdict over the Mustangs who dropped to 0-4.

Emory trailed by a 75-74 margin with 2:44 remaining following a bucket junior Austin DaGue, and then forced the host Mustangs into a shot clock violation, setting the stage for Trawick's charity tosses. On Stevenson's ensuing possession, sophomore Whit Rapp came up with a steal that led to senior Davis Rao hitting one of two free throws, extending the Eagles' edge to 77-75.  The Mustangs' Christian Roberts, who ended the night with a game-high 36 points, launched a three-point shot with seven ticks on the clock that missed the mark and that was rebounded by DaGue.  DaGue was fouled and then put the game out of reach with two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining, closing out the game's scoring.

Stevenson outshot the Eagles from the field, 48.4 percent (30-of-62) to 40.7 (22-of-54) but Emory countered by sinking 28 free throws in 39 attempts (71.8%) while the Mustangs were successful on 10 of its 19 tries. Trawick paced the Emory scoring attack with 22 points, hitting five-of-eight from the floor, including three triples in five tries.  Rao totaled 12 points while junior Jonathan Terry finished with 11 points and topped the squad with a career-high tying 11 rebounds.

After erasing a pair of 17-point first half deficits that saw it battle to a 41-38 lead at the break, the Eagles trailed by a 62-56 count with10:09 left in the game following a basket by Roberts.  Emory narrowed the gap to 68-66 with 6:20 on the clock after sophomore Adam Gigax converted a nifty pass from Rao. Roberts scored what proved to be his last two points of evening with 5:01 remaining that kept the Mustangs ahead by five points, 73-68.  Roberts closed out the night successful on 14 of his 19 field goal tries including five-of-seven three-point shooting.  The Eagles then scored four straight points, started by a basket by Jim Gordon and followed by free throws by DaGue and Trawick to slice the Mustangs lead to 73-72.  After a pair of free throws by SU's Chris Day put the home team up by three points with 4:00 left, but those were the final points that Stevenson would score.   

For the second straight evening, Emory saw the opposition bolt an early lead as the Mustangs rode 12 points from Roberts in building a double-digit lead just 4:21 into the contest. A bucket by sophomore Donald Avant cut the deficit to 11 points but Stevenson scored five straight points, capped by a tip-dunk by Michael Byrd to take a 23-7 lead.  Eight unanswered Emory points drew it to within eight points, but five straight points by Roberts, who finished the half with 25 points, stretched the home team's edge to 28-15.  Roberts kept up his scoring barrage, picking up six points during an 8-0 Stevenson spurt that gave the Mustangs a 17-point bulge, 36-19, with 5:32 on the clock.  Sean Marbury hit a bucket that kept SU ahead, 38-21, with 5:06 left, but from that point it was all Emory with the Eagles scoring the half's last 20 points to take a 41-38 advantage into the break. Trawick scored eight of his 14 first-half points over the final 4:50 of the stanza, finishing the opening 20 minutes sinking four-of-six from the floor including two treys in three opportunities.