Emory Men's Basketball Preps For Road Tests At Brandeis & NYU

GAME FACTS -  Hoping to build upon a four-game winning streak, the Emory men’s basketball squad continues University Athletic Association play this Friday and Sunday (Jan. 28 & 30) when it battles Brandeis University and New York University, respectively.  Auberbach Court on the Brandeis campus will be the site of the 47^th meeting between the Eagles and Judges with tip slated for 8:00 p.m.   On Sunday, the Coles Sports Center at NYU will be the venue for the 48^th battle between the Violets and Emory with that affair beginning at noon.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is fourth-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).  Last season, Zimmerman directed the Eagles to an overall record of 15-10, the program’s first winning season since 2004-05.  In addition, Emory tied for third place in the University Athletic Association with a 7-7 slate, with its win total the most since 2000-01.  For his efforts, Zimmerman, along with assistants Chris Murphy and Ben Wright were named the UAA’s Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

In his eighth season as the head coach at Brandeis is Brian Meehan (Clark, 1986).  Heading into  Friday’s game, Meehan has a school record of 130-72. In 15 campaigns as a head coach, which includes a seven-year stint at Salem State, Meehan owns a career slate of 273-106.  

Joe Nesci (Brooklyn College, 1979) is in his 23^rd year as the head coach at NYU and checks into a Friday contest vs. Rochester with a school and career won-lost showing of 399-189.  He has directed the program to 21 winning seasons and 15 postseason appearances.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 13-3 with its 4-1 mark in UAA action good for a first-place tie. The Eagles turned in a successful league home debut last weekend, defeating both Case Western, 97-73, and Carnegie Mellon, 88-71.  The two victories upped Emory’s home record to 8-1.  The Eagles received double-figure scoring from five players in each contest and ended the weekend shooting an even 50 percent (64-of-128) from floor including 47.4 percent from three-point range.  Emory’s 13-3 record is the second-best 16-game mark in school history, behind only the 1989-90 team’s effort of 15-1.

Brandeis will host Emory with an overall record of 12-3, 2-3 in the UAA.  Last weekend, the Judges split a pair of home contests, defeating Chicago, 59-53, before dropping a 70-36 decision to Washington University.  Brandeis sports a home record of 7-1 this year.

NYU will take a 12-4 slate into its Rochester game.  The Violets are 1-4 in the league after splitting home dates last weekend, losing 80-76 to Wash U. and topping Chicago, 62-47.  NYU enters the weekend the owners of a 9-1 record at home.

SERIES RECORDS -  In a series that dates from January of 1988, Brandeis checks in with an all-time mark of 25-21 against Emory.  Emory won both meetings last year, posting a 77-64 win at Brandeis before recording a tight 64-63 decision at the Woodruff PE Center. 

NYU leads in the all-time series against Emory by a 31-16 margin.  Each team earned a win last year, with Emory notching a 69-57 verdict in New York and the Violets a 75-73 win in Atlanta.  Four of the last seven meetings between the schools have been decided by three or fewer points. NYU stands 16-8 vs. Emory in games played on its home floor.

WILLIAMS ENJOYS BIG WEEKEND – Senior Julien Williams came through with a productive offensive weekend, totaling a season-high 14 points in the 97-73 win over Case before tying that on Sunday against Carnegie Mellon.  In the two games, the 6-foot-2 Williams shot 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the floor including 80 percent (4-of-5) from beyond the arc.  He also averaged 4.5 rebounds per outing.

CLAUNCH UAA CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Junior Austin Claunch was named the UAA Co-Player of the Week for the second time this year after averaging team highs in points (21.0 ppg), assists (10.5 apg), steals (3.5 spg) and minutes (35.5 mpg).  Claunch doled out back-to-back games of double-figure assists, registering 11 vs. Case, tying the second-highest individual game total in school history, and 10 against Carnegie Mellon.  In the process, he became the first player in school history ever to post back-to-back performances of 10 or more assists. His 21 assists over the weekend enabled him to move into No. 4 spot on the school’s all-time list with 329 assists. 

FRIEDBERG DOMINATES DEFENSIVELY – After picking up 11 points, his fifth double-figure scoring performance of the year, and leading the team with eight boards against Case Western on Friday, sophomore Michael Friedberg put on a dominating defensive clinic Sunday against Carnegie Mellon. The 6-foot-6 Friedberg topped all players with a career-high 11 rebounds while registering another career best with 10 blocked shots that tied for the No. 2 spot for the highest individual total at Emory.  It was just the third time in school history that an Emory player finished in double figures in both rebounds and blocked shots.  Friedberg joins Tim Garrett (21 rebs., 10 blocks vs. Concordia (IL), Jan. 12, 1987) and David Schaaf (17 rebs., 11 blocks vs. Brandeis, Feb. 9, 2001) as other Emory cagers to accomplish that feat.  

Heading into the weekend, Friedberg is No. 2 among UAA players in blocked shots (2.2 bpg) and his 33 swats rank him fifth on the school’s seasonal ladder.

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND – The Eagles saw five players reach double figures in scoring in both games last weekend, bringing the total number of games this year to five where the team has had five or more players finish with 10 or more points.  So far this year, Emory has had players score 20 or more points on 13 occasions compared to last year’s total of six.

DOUBLE-DIGIT OBSTACLES DON’T FAZE EAGLES – Emory’s 69-68 win at Washington University (Jan. 14) represented the third time this season that the Eagles had rallied from a significant double-digit deficit and came away with a win.   Emory faced three 14-point deficits in the second half against the Bears, the final one being a 52-38 disadvantage with 16:18 left on the clock, before battling back for the one-point win. 

Back on Nov. 28, Emory trailed by a dozen points at halftime in a home game against Maryville before shooting 65.4 percent (17-of-26) in the second half en route to a wild 103-99 decision over the Scots.  The squad’s other win came in the season opener against Oglethorpe where it fell behind by 16 points at halftime and still faced a 14-point uphill climb with just 7:33 left in the contest.  The Eagles then responded with a 21-7 spurt over the remainder of regulation before posting a 92-84 overtime verdict over the Petrels.

Emory almost notched another win of the come-from-behind variety when it surged back to within one point after seeing Washington & Lee build a 21-point cushion with 17:22 left in the game. However, the Generals held on for an 86-75 triumph.

CLAUNCH A FAMILIAR NAME AMONG UAA LEADERS --  As was the case last year when he ranked among the top 10 UAA players in six categories, Austin Claunch finds himself again among the top 10 performers in six statistical rankings, and tops the loop in five departments. 

Heading into the weekend, Claunch holds down the No. 1 spot in assists (7.2 apg), free throw percentage (.887), steals (2.1 spg), assist/turnover ratio (2.6) and minutes (35.2 mpg).  In NCAA Division III statistics released for games played through Jan. 23, the 5-foot-9 point guard ranks fourth nationally in assists, 18^th in free throw percentage and 20^rd in assist/turnover ratio.  The other category where he figures among the top 10 in the UAA is scoring (5^th, 15.2 ppg).

GULOTTA’S 3-POINT FG STREAK STILL ALIVE – Junior Alex Gulotta’s streak of three-point field goals is now at 28 games, fourth longest in school history.  The 6-foot-1 sharpshooter knocked down a trey against Case Western and Carnegie Mellon, running his season total to 52, good for a 10^th-place tie on the Emory seasonal chart. 

As he heads into the weekend, Gulotta is among the UAA and national leaders in a couple of categories.  His average of 3.3 three-point field goals per game is tied for the No. 1 spot in the UAA
and sixth in the D-III ranks while his 49.5 percent mark from distance is third in the league (minimum 2.0 makes per game) and sixth nationally (minimum 2.5 makes per game).

Career-wise, he is 11^th on Emory’s career ladder with 114 three pointers and first in three-point percentage (.450).

GREVEN PACES UAA IN SCORING – Heading into the weekend, sophomore Alex Greven continues to pace the UAA in overall scoring (16.2) and is on a four-game double-figure scoring streak.  Greven totaled a team-high 18 points in the win over Case Western before finishing with 14 points against Carnegie Mellon.  The 6-foot-3 Greven has chalked up 14 contests of double-figure scoring and has come through with four efforts of 20-plus points. 

In addition to his scoring average, Greven holds down the No. 5 spot on the UAA ladder with an 82.9 percent (58-of-70) from the free throw line.  His 70 attempts from the stripe are second on the team behind Claunch’s 71 while his 58 makes ties him for second.

DAVIS MAKING HIS MARK – Jake Davis continued his steady play over the weekend, averaging 15.5 points and in the process upped his season scoring average to 13.3 points, good for the No. 3 spot on the club and 10^th place among UAA players.  The 6-foot-5 Davis also averaged 6.5 rebounds in the wins over Case and Carnegie Mellon and now ranks fourth in the league with a 6.6 per-game average.  Davis, who leads all UAA freshmen in scoring, rebounding and shooting, has produced 12 double-figure scoring contests and has 10 efforts of six or more rebounds to his credit. 

Davis has paced the club in scoring on five occasions and has been the club’s top board man in eight contests.  In the Eagles’ nine home games, he is averaging 14.1 points and shooting 48.8 percent from the floor while tossing in 12.3 points and hitting on 50 percent of his field goal tries in the team’s seven affairs away from the Woodruff PE Center.

EMORY FREE THROW SHOOTING A PLUS – Heading into the weekend, Emory continues to lead the UAA and stands No. 3 nationally among Division III programs with a mark of 79.6 percent (285-of-358) from the foul line.  After shooting an unusual 69.6 percent from the stripe vs. Case Western on Friday, the Eagles came back with a mark of 82.1 percent (23-of-28) in the Carnegie Mellon game, the ninth performance of 80 percent or better from the line this year and 13^th of 75 percent or better. 
Emory is shooting 80.7 percent (180-of-223) from the stripe in its nine home games and 77.8 percent (105-of-135) in road/neutral contests. 

Emory has three of the league’s top 10 free throw shooters including Austin Claunch who ranks No. 1 in the loop and 18^th nationally with a showing of 88.1 percent (63-of-71).  Jake Davis (3^nd, 84.1%) and Alex Greven (5^th, 82.9%) are the other Eagles to hold down top 10 slots in the UAA. In addition, Davis and Greven rank 68^th and 93^rd, respectively, on the national scene among D-III cagers.


EMORY NOTES – Emory shot 53.8 percent from the floor against Case Western on Friday, the fifth time this year it reached or surpassed the 50 percent mark … During its four-game winning streak, Emory is averaging 83.0 points while surrendering 70.5 … Over the last four outings, the Eagles are connecting at a 45.6 percent (113-of-248) clip from the floor, including 42.4 percent (39-of-92) from beyond the arc, while the opposition posts a 43.4 percent (99-of-228) effort from the field … Emory tops the UAA and is 21^st nationally in scoring offense (82.8 ppg) … In the last four games, Emory is averaging 10.0 turnovers compared to 16.8 for opponents … Emory has six games of 10 or more steals compared to last year’s entire total of three contests … In the last four games, the Eagles own a 93-55 scoring edge in points off turnovers … In addition to its No. 3 rank in free throw shooting, the Eagles are 15^th nationally in three-point field goals per game (9.1 tpg) … Emory has outshot eight of its 16 foes from the floor this year and stands 8-0 in those games … Emory has attempted more free throws than  the opposition in 10 affairs … Junior Justin Resnick saw a seven-game streak of knocking down at least one three-point field goal come to an end in the Case game, but he bounced back with a couple of triples en route to a 10-point afternoon vs. Carnegie Mellon, his second double-digit performance of the year … Emory is 8-1 this year when leading at halftime.