The Emory University men's basketball team hung on and survived for a 64-61 victory at the University of Rochester Saturday afternoon in the University Athletic Association opener for both teams. The contest marked the first UAA competition for either program in 679 days.
The Eagles have now won four in a row to up their season win-loss record to 8-3 (1-0 UAA) while the Yellowjackets saw their five-game winning streak snapped to fall to 8-3 (0-1 UAA) and suffered their first loss at home this season. Emory has now won four straight over Rochester.
Senior Matthew Schner paced the Eagles with 16 points and became the 18th member to join the Emory men's basketball 1,000-point club. Classmate Nick Stuck had 14 points including 12 in the second half and fellow senior Romin Williams scored 12 points off the bench. Junior Mason Johnson reached double figures with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting to round out the Emory scoring leaders.
Schner scored 12 of his 16 points in the opening half as Emory went into the break with a 28-19 advantage. The Eagles fell behind 14-7 before outscoring Rochester 16-2 over a 10-minute span to reclaim the lead. Rochester scored just five points across the final 13 minutes of the first half and shot 25.8% combined over the 20 minutes as the team registered its lowest point total in a half this season.
Emory led by as many as 16 points before a 10-0 run by Rochester brought the Yellowjackets to within six at 49-43 with 7:05 left to play. The Eagles led by more than one possession until UR's Andrew Jackson sank a three pointer with 35.2 seconds to play, making it 61-58.
Stuck made two free throws to push the lead back to five with 22.8 on the clock before Trent Noordsij drained a three pointer back down the court to bring Rochester within two at 63-61 with 14.3 showing on the clock.
Williams was fouled on the next possession, but made one of two at the line to give Rochester a chance to tie with 13 seconds remaining. UR's Ross Gang airballed the Yellowjackets' first opportunity but an offensive rebound by Brian Amabilino Perez gave Rochester one more shot. With the clock dwindling towards zero, Perez dished the ball to the top of the arc, finding Jackson who was able to get off a shot prior to the final horn sounding. However, his shot clanked off the side of the rim as Emory escaped with the three-point win on the road.
The Eagles return to Atlanta next weekend for more UAA competition against No. 7 ranked Washington University and University of Chicago. As a reminder, no fans will be permitted inside the Woodruff PE Center for either contest on Friday and Sunday. WashU-Chicago was scheduled to open the UAA slate on Saturday but the game was postponed due to covid concerns.