Emory's Men's Basketball Winds Up 2008-09 Season

EMORY MEN'S BASKETBALL WINDS UP 2008-09 SEASON

(Feb. 25) - GAME FACTS -  The Emory men's basketball team plays its final game of the 2008-09 season on Saturday (Feb. 28) when it hosts Case Western Reserve University.  The contest against the Spartans will be Senior Day with the Eagles recognizing the contributions of John and Ryan Kresse along with student manager Ben Wright.  Tip is slated for noon.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is second-year Head Coach Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, '94). Named head coach in April of 2007, Zimmerman came to Emory after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville (2003-04 through 2006-07).  Prior to his stint with the Aces, Zimmerman was an assistant at Davidson College for seven years (1996-97 through 2002-03).

In his sixth season at the helm of the Case program is Sean McDonnell (Boston  College, 1996).  Prior to his stint at Case, he served as the head coach at Hiram College for three years.

2008-09 RECORDS - Emory meets Case with an overall record of 7-17, 2-11 in UAA action.  The Eagles split a pair of UAA road games last weekend, dropping a 65-54 decision to Brandeis before coming away with an exciting 80-79 double-overtime victory at New York University. 

Case stands 7-17 in overall play and 4-9 in league contests.   The Spartans came out on the short end of a pair of road games last weekend, 80-63 to NYU and 108-78 to Brandeis.

SERIES RECORDS -  In a series that started in January of 1987, Case holds a 17-16 edge in the all-time series against Emory.  The Spartans took their one-game advantage following a 74-66 win in Cleveland earlier this year.  Emory claims a 9-6 mark against Case in games played on its home floor.

NOTES - Junior Chad Hixon continued his consistent scoring ways over the weekend, totaling a team-high 11 points vs. Brandeis before recording 15 points (second high on the squad) against NYU ... Hixon has posted double-figure scoring in 15 games this year and in nine of his last 10 outings ... In his last five performances, the 6-foot-2 Hixon is tossing in 13.0 points and shooting 41.6 percent (24-of-52)  from the floor ... Hixon also topped the Eagles in rebounding in both affairs, pulling down 10 boards against Brandeis (his second double-double of the year) and nine vs. NYU ...  Hixon leads the team in rebounding with a 6.1 per-game mark, good for the No. 3 spot among UAA players ... Freshman Alex Gulotta averaged 9.0 points in his two outings last weekend, including a 12-point afternoon against NYU, his fifth double-figure scoring performance of the year ... Gulotta knocked down six-of-14 from three-point range (42.8%) in the two games and has treys to his credit in his last six appearances ... His late-season surge has placed him among the top 15 players in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.357) ... Emory held Brandeis to 34.7 percent from the floor, the second-lowest opponent total this season and the fourth time that the opposition had shot less than 40 percent against the Eagles ... While Emory outshot Brandeis from the field (43.9% vs. 34.7%), the Judges countered by sinking 28-of-33 from the charity stripe, the fifth time in conference play this season that an opponent had attempted 30 or more free throws ... Emory concluded the NYU contest with a 47-36 edge in rebounding, the seventh time this year that it grabbed 10 or more rebounds that the opposition and its biggest differential in a UAA contest ... Junior Anthony Fernandez registered his 14th game of double-figure scoring this year with a team-high 19-point afternoon against  NYU. ... Fernandez is averaging 13.7 points per game, tops on the club and tied for eighth in the UAA ... The 6-foot-4 Fernandez has connected on 80.5 percent (66-of-82) from the charity stripe, good for a fourth-place deadlock on the league's ladder ...Fernandez had led or shared for the team's scoring lead in 11 contests this year ... Freshman Austin Claunch doled out 13 assists and had no turnovers in 65 minutes of play ...  Claunch's nine assists in the NYU game represented a personal best and is the high-water mark by an Emory player this year ... Claunch ranks ninth in the UAA in assists (2.5 apg) ... Sophomore Julien Williams grabbed seven rebounds in both games last weekend and has seven performances of six or more boards this year ... Senior John Kresse is fifth among UAA players with a 3.7 per-game assists average ... He has registered five or more assists in nine games this season and in 21 of his 72 career outings at Emory ... Kresse heads into the weekend's action with 215 career assists, good for sixth place on the school's all-time ladder ... Emory is No. 3 in the UAA in free throw percentage (.734) ... Emory has had players score in double figures on 60 occasions compared to 82 for opponents.