Emory Men's Basketball Drops Hard-Fought Decision To chicago

University of Chicago junior Jake Pancratz hit a three-point field goal with 1.2 seconds left to erase a one-point Emory lead and spark the Maroons to a win at the Woodruff PE Center on Sunday.  Chicago saw its record to go 5-17 overall, 5-6 in the University Athletic Association after escaping with a 53-51 win over the Eagles who slipped to 6-16 overall, 1-10 in the league.

Pancratz's heroics negated another determined second-half rally by the Emory squad.  The Eagles trailed by 12 points, 49-37, with 7:08 left in the contest before putting the defensive clamps on the visitors and running off 12 straight points to tie the contest at 49-49 apiece with 2:05 on the clock. Emory saw five players score in the comeback, including four points by junior Chad Hixon who finished the contest with a team-high 13 points.  After UC's Adam Machone snapped the tie with a free throw, the Eagles took their first lead since the midway point of the first half when a layup by Hixon gave them a 51-50 edge with 48 ticks left in the game.  Each team missed scoring chances before a tough offensive foul call on Emory gave Chicago the ball back with five seconds left, setting the stage for Pancratz's dramatic shot.

Hixon hit four-of-eight from the floor and five-of-six from the charity stripe en route to his 14th double-figure scoring effort of the campaign and seventh in the last eight outings.  Hixon also finished the afternoon with a team-high seven rebounds.  Junior Anthony Fernandez was the other Eagle to notch double figures with 10 points.

Emory shot 38.3 percent (18-of-47) from the floor while Chicago finished with a mark of 35.5 percent (22-of-62).  Neither team shot extremely well from three-point range with the Eagles successful on just one-of-eight and Chicago six-of-28 from beyond the arc.  The Maroons, who were led in scoring by Pancratz's 12 points, ended the game with a 39-33 advantage in the rebounding department.

Emory returns to action next Friday (Feb. 20) when it plays at Brandeis University in an 8:00 tip.