College Men’s Basketball Final – Emory 82, Guilford 66

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Davis Rao made six three-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points in Emory University’s 82-66 basketball win at Guilford College Sunday. Rao led a big outside-shooting day for the Eagles (4-3), who made 17-of-37 (45.9%) shots from beyond the arc, including 10 of 19 in the second half.

John Bryant’s (Dandridge, Tenn./Jefferson County) traditional three-point play on the second half’s first possession helped Guilford (4-3) tie the game for what proved the final time. Emory’s Whit Rapp answered with a drive to the basket at the other end, which triggered an 11-3 run over the next four minutes. Rapp added another bucket and Adam Gigax made the first of his two three-pointers in the decisive spurt.

Guilford’s Justen Best (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill (Tennessee Temple)) made two trifectas sandwiched around Gigax’s second triple of the game and drew the Quakers to within 48-45 with 14:20 remaining in the game. Guilford pulled no closer however, as the hot-shooting Eagles ripped off three three-pointers in a 13-4 spurt that opened a 61-49 margin with 9:36 remaining.

The Quakers held a nine-point early in the game as Trever Hyatt drained a three-pointer that opened a 13-4 margin 8:30 into the contest. Emory’s Will Trawick scored eight of his 14 points, including two three-pointers, in an 11-4 run that forced the game’s second of three ties. He added another trey and Rao hit two as Emory took a 27-19 first-half advantage before the Quakers scrapped their way back to within 34-31 at halftime.
Rapp, Emory’s sophomore point guard, frequently found the right man as evidenced by his game-high 13 assists and one turnover in 33 minutes. He also had eight points, five boards and two steals. Trawick knocked down four three-pointers and Emory’s 6-9 junior center, Austin Dague, got into the act with two three-pointers and 12 points. Gigax finished with 10 points and local favorite Jonathan Terry (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day) chipped in 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.

Bryant and Carson Long (Pilot Mountain, N.C./East Surry) shared team-high scoring honors with 10 points apiece, setting new career bests for both rookies. Will Freeman finished with nine points on four-of-six field-goal shooting. Best and Trevor Mayo (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day) added eight points apiece. Alston Thompson (Durham, N.C.Durham Academy) chipped in six points and a game-high seven rebounds off the bench.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers return from a week-long break for final exams to play at North Carolina Wesleyan College December 14 in a 3:00 p.m. contest.

Emory vs Guilford
12/06/15 3:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
EMORY 82
GUILFORD 66

EMORY (5-3) Davis Rao 6-9 1-2 19; Will Trawick 5-16 0-0 14; Austin Dague 4-8 2-2 12;
Adam Gigax 4-9 0-0 10; Jonathan Terry 4-11 2-3 10; Whit Rapp 4-5 0-1 8; Beau Bommarito 2-3 0-0 6; Sam Heery 1-1 0-0 3; Marcus Ransom 0-0 0-0 0; Joseph Katz 0-0 0-0 0; Spence Osborne 0-0 0-1 0; Donald Avant 0-0 0-0 0; Jim Gordon 0-1 0-0 0; Gebereal Baitey 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Avant 0-1 0-0 0; Jonathan Coles
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 5-9 82.

GUILFORD (4-3) BRYANT, John 4-5 2-3 10; LONG, Carson 4-7 2-2 10; FREEMAN, Will 4-6 1-2 9; BEST, Justen 2-8 2-2 8; MAYO, Trevor 2-8 4-9 8; THOMPSON, Alston 1-1 4-4 6; ROGERS, Jarrod 2-7 0-0 5; HYATT, Trever 2-9 0-0 5; SYM, Austin 1-2 0-0 3; SAPP, Brandon 0-1 2-2 2; ROUSE, Bo 0-0 0-0 0; REINEY, Michael 0-1 0-0 0; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-3 0-0 0; WELLS, Trent 0-0 0-0 0; METZ, AJ 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 22-58 17-24 66.

Emory.........................   34   48  -   82
Guilford......................   31   35  -   66

3-point goals–Emory 17-37 (Davis Rao 6-8; Will Trawick 4-10; Adam Gigax 2-5; Austin Dague 2-4; Beau Bommarito 2-3; Sam Heery 1-1; Jim Gordon 0-1; Gebereal Baitey 0-1; Jonathan Terry 0-4), Guilford 5-23 (BEST, Justen 2-4; SYM, Austin 1-2; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-4; HYATT, Trever 1-7; REINEY, Michael 0-1;
HOUSTON, Zachary 0-2; MAYO, Trevor 0-1; LONG, Carson 0-2).
Fouled out–Emory-Jonathan Terry, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Emory 40 (Adam Gigax 5; Whit Rapp 5), Guilford 37 (THOMPSON, Alston 7).
Assists–Emory 21 (Whit Rapp 13), Guilford 14 (HOUSTON, Zachary 5).
Total fouls–Emory 21, Guilford 15.
Technical fouls–Emory-None, Guilford-None.
A-225
Nonconference game