Emory Sports Information
The Emory men’s basketball team saw a historic season come to an end Saturday evening as it came out on the short end of a NCAA Tournament Round of Eight contest to No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Eagles closed out their campaign with an overall record of 19-9 following a 74-51 setback to the Warhawks who advanced to the Division III national semifinals next Friday while boosting their record to 27-4.
Playing less than 24 hours after its intense overtime win against No. 1 UW-Stevens Point, Emory shot just 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from floor while Whitewater connected at a 54.9 percent clip (28-of-51), including 72 percent (18-of-25) over the final 20 minutes where it outpointed Emory by a 49-25 margin.
Senior Jake Davis was the lone Eagle to finish in double digits, totaling 14 points over 18 minutes of action. Davis was hampered by fouls and picked up his fifth with 10 minutes to go. Juniors Michael Florin and Josh Schattie were next up on Emory’s scoresheet with eight points apiece.
Emory held a one-point lead at intermission but saw the Warhawks open the second stanza on an 11-2 spurt that gave them a 36-28 lead. The Eagles trailed by a 38-33 count after a Davis bucket with 14:08 on the clock, but a 14-4 Whitewater run, fueled by 11 points by KJ Evans extended its cushion to 15 points, 52-37, with 10:07 left. From that point the closest Emory would get would be 12 points. Evans was a thorn in Emory’s side most of the evening as he finished with a game-high 27 points, while also topping all players with 11 rebounds.
Both teams got out of the blocks slowly and the Eagles led by a 12-9 margin after a pair of free throws by Davis. The Warhawks responded with a 9-0 spurt, keyed by a pair of buckets by Evans to claim an 18-12 advantage with 8:50 left in the stanza. A triple by UW-Whitewater’s Cody Odegaard provided the Warhawks a 23-16 advantage, but Emory closed out the half on a 10-2 run, with Michael Florin and Jake Davis each scoring four points in that stretch to a 26-25 lead into halftime.
The game marked the end of the careers of Emory seniors McPherson Moore, Stephen Simmons and Davis. Davis concluded his four-year stint with the program as the school’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 1,870 points. The team’s appearance in the Elite Eight represented the farthest the program had ever advanced.