GREENSBORO, N.C. – In a thriller at Jack Jensen Court at the Ragan-Brown FieldHouse, preseason No. 3 nationally ranked Emory University (3-1, 0-0 UAA) narrowly evaded an upset, outlasting the Guilford College men's basketball team (2-3, 0-0 ODAC), 103-97 in the Quakers home-opener on Saturday afternoon.
In an absolute barnburner, the Eagles shot .507 from the field, although just 4-of-20 from three as a collective compared to GC's .352 overall mark, though their 10 threes kept them within striking distance. Each squad made 25 free throws but EU earned five extra attempts, 35-30, however the biggest difference was in the paint where the guests netted 66 points against Guilford's 36.
Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.) kept churning out the points with a 24-point afternoon, tied for the game-high, though he shot 7-of-21 and 5-for-16 from three to get there.
Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio), made 9-of-10 from the line but just 6-of-17 from the field while not connecting on a three to get to 21 points on top of four steals.
Dawson Edwards (Durham, N.C.) had a great day with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Rival Axselle (Mechanicsville, Va.) netted ten while
Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.) pitched in a dozen to go with a team-high five assists.
Magnus Swinger (Concord, N.C.) scored a career-high 10 points and while he only scored one point,
Jalen Walker (Durham, N.C.) deserves a shoutout for his work getting six rebounds, four of them offensive, adding four assists and a block.
Guilford kept All-American Jair Knight somewhat in-check with 17 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting, but it was other Eagles who were troublesome. Ben Pearce was tied for the game-high netting 24 points on 9-of-16 to go with a contest-leading eight helpers to continue his great start to the season. Ethan Fauss dominated the interior with 20-points, 11-rebound double-double, adding six blocks and six assists while making 8-of-17 and leading all players in caroms. AJ Harris also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards while Harris Jackson netted 14 and Spencer Hall had 11, including seven at the line, off the bench for the guests.
The first half was exactly what you would expect from a couple of top-30 offenses in the nation, as the adversaries just went blow-for-blow, shot-for-shot, and point-for-point over the first 15 minutes. Neither team got beyond a four-point lead in that span that featured 10 ties and a 11 lead changes and through it all, they remained deadlocked at 42-all.
After Will Otto made a free throw, Edwards cashed in on a three and Guilford built some momentum. Four-straight at the stripe from Swinger and Salters created a cushion before Axselle and Walker combined for three more at the stripe following a pair from Pearce for EU as the hosts had a 7-2 spurt. After the Eagles got back to three, Salters converted an and-one then another pull-up jumper,
Enzo Geremski (Winston-Salem, N.C.) split a pair of free throws and Edwards made a couple at the line all before Proctor beat the horn with a corner three, and while a handful of Emory free throws during that time kept them in it, the score was 62-51 at the half.
Out of the break, the guests got a two then Proctor made a trey, getting the lead to a game-high dozen for Guilford, but they could not maintain it as EU began to get run-outs and easy baskets during a 16-3 stretch. Escher countered a couple hoops but by the under-12 break, Emory had turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a two-point lead.
The Eagles maintained the momentum out of the stoppage, getting their lead to double-digits by the next timeout, then to a game-high 12 points on a couple of occasions, and while GC mounted a comeback, getting as close as five a few times in the closing minutes, Emory escaped with the 103-97 win.
The reigning USA South champions of Pfeiffer University visit the reigning Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champions in Ragan-Brown next before Thanksgiving. Tipoff will be on Tuesday, November 25
th at 7:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
