From Emory University Athletics
Senior Adam Gigax topped all players with a season-high 21 points in leading the Emory men's basketball team to a Thursday afternoon win over Illinois Wesleyan in the opening game of the Emory Classic. The Eagles won for the third straight time and raised their record to 7-2 following a 72-56 decision over the Titans who slipped to 8-3.
Gigax ended the day sinking six-of-11 field goal attempts, including four treys in seven attempts, en route to his eighth double-figure effort in as many outings this year. His performance pushed his career total to 990 points heading into Friday afternoon's match-up against Transylvania. Senior Whit Rappand junior Beau Bommarito each chipped in 12 points, with Rapp doling out five assists and Bommarito pacing the team's rebounding effort with a career-high eight boards.
A 10-3 run by the Titans to open the second half erased a six-point Emory halftime advantage and gave the visitors a 36-35 edge with 18:08 left in the contest. The Eagles responded with an 8-0 spurt, ignited by back-to-back triples by Gigax, to reclaim the lead at 43-36, but IWU answered with seven straight points to knot the battle at 43-43 with 13:42 on the clock. After a pair of charity tosses by IWU's Alex O'Neill cut an Emory advantage to four points, the Eagles rattled off seven consecutive points, the final six coming on back-to-back treys by Bommarito within a 23-second stretch, to bolt to a 58-47 cushion. After a Titans bucket, Bommarito scored on a layup to push Emory's lead back to 11 points with 6:42 remaining. IWU drew to within eight points, but the Eagles scored the game's next six points to extend their margin to 68-54 with 3:06 left.
For the game, Emory connected on 41.4 percent (23-56) of its field goal attempts, including 31.8 percent (7-22) from distance. After converting just 32.3 percent during the opening 20 minutes of play, the Eagles stepped it up in the second stanza and sank 52 percent (13-25) from the floor. Illinois Wesleyan concluded the contest 32.2 percent (19-59) from the field, the second-lowest Emory opponent total this season, and was successful on just 21.4 percent (6-28) from three-point range. With senior Donald Avant and freshman Matt Davet complementing Bommarito's play on the glass with seven boards apiece, Emory finished with a 41-33 advantage in rebounding. IWU registered 17 turnovers and Emory 16, but the Eagles parlayed the Titans' miscues to 19 points compared to the visitor's nine points off the Eagles' mistakes.