From Emory University Athletics
Junior Adam Gigax and senior Jim Gordon combined for 54 points and the Emory University men's basketball team stunned Brandeis with a second-half rally that led to an improbable Friday evening home win in overtime. The Eagles won their fourth straight contest and raised their overall record to 13-4, 4-2 in the University Athletic Association, following an extra-session 94-85 decision over the Judges who fell to 6-10 in overall play, 2-4 in the league.
Gigax led all players with 28 points, 26 coming in the second half and overtime, ending the night sinking 10-of-18 field goal attempts, including five treys in 11 tries, and three-of-four from the stripe. It represented his seventh consecutive and 15th double-figure scoring effort of the year. Gordon finished with a career-high 26 points, successfully converting seven-of-18 field goals, including three treys, along with nine free throws in 10 tries. In addition, he grabbed a personal-best 11 rebounds in registering his first career double-double. Junior Whit Rapp totaled 15 points, five in overtime, and doled out nine assists. Junior Christopher Avant rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 11 points.
After trailing by a dozen points at halftime, Emory faced a 17-point obstacle when it fell behind by a 69-52 count with 10:41 left in the second half. The Eagles methodically chipped away at the deficit, holding the visitors to just 12 points for the remainder of regulation while scoring 29. Gigax scored 13 points in the comeback, hitting three treys, while Rapp and Christopher Avant each scored five points. Emory trailed by a 78-70 margin with 4:16 on the clock before going on a 11-0 run, capped by a pair of Rapp free throws, to take an 81-78 edge with 29 ticks remaining. The Judges were able to knot the score when Jack Fay drained a three pointer with 13 ticks on the clock. Each team then quickly turned the ball over which resulted in Emory having the last shot, a half-court heave by Gordon that just missed its mark and forcing the extra five minutes of play.
In overtime, the Eagles scored the first four points, highlighted by a Gordon bucket, to claim an 85-81 lead. After a pair of free throws by BU, Gordon answered with another basket, putting the Eagles ahead, 87-83 with 3:00 left. The Judges countered with a basket by Nate Meehan, but five straight Emory points, ignited by a three pointer by Rapp with 1:58 left followed by a layup by Gigax with 40 seconds left stretched the Eagles' to a 92-85 cushion with 40 seconds left.
In a game that saw a total of 60 fouls called and 83 free throws attempted, Brandeis actually enjoyed an edge in field goal shooting, hitting 48.2 percent (27 of 56) on the evening compared to the Eagles' 36.5 percent (23 of 63). However, in overtime, the Judges made just one field goal in eight attempts while Emory sank four-of-five from the floor. Emory converted 37 free throws, the program's second-highest game total, in 49 opportunities (third most in program history), while BU went 23-of-34 at the stripe. Emory enjoyed a big edge in rebounding, grabbing 44 boards to BU's 26.
Emory led for the majority of the first half, posting a 22-15 advantage with 9:23 left in the stanza following a three pointer by Rapp. After the Judges cut that lead to three points, five unanswered points by Gordon gave Emory its largest lead of the half, 27-19 with 7:11 remaining. From there, the Eagles went ice cold from the field, missing 14 straight shots and going just 1-of-15 from the floor, while Brandeis rattled off a 24-4 run, sinking all seven of its field goal tries, including three treys, to take a 43-31 edge into the break. Over the opening 20 minutes of action, Brandeis shot 56.5 percent (13 of 23) from the floor compared to Emory's 25 percent (8 of 32). Gordon had 13 points to pace the Eagles' first-half scoring effort.