Emory Men's Basketball Makes UAA Home Debut

GAME FACTS -  After playing its first three University Athletic Association games on the road, the Emory men’s basketball team makes its home conference debut this Friday and Sunday (Jan. 21 & 23) when it plays host to Case Western and Carnegie Mellon, respectively.  The Woodruff PE Center on the Emory campus will serve as the venue for the 37^th battle between Case and the Eagles and tip is slated for the 8:00 p.m.  Sunday’s affair against Carnegie Mellon will mark the 46^th clash between the programs and that contest will get underway 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 Case is Sean McDonnell (Boston College, 1996).  Prior to his current post, McDonnell served as the head coach at Hiram College for three campaigns.

Tony Wingen (Springfield College, 1992) is in his 21^st year as the head coach at Carnegie Mellon and checks into a Friday contest vs. Rochester with a school won-lost ledger of 239-275.  In 23 seasons as a head coach, which includes a two-year stint at Sewanee, Wingen has a career mark of 260-303.

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory posts an overall record of 11-3 including a 2-1 mark in league play.  The Eagles are coming off a big weekend that saw them earn a pair of road wins.  On Friday, the Eagles recorded a 69-68 come-from-behind decision over Washington University before earning a 78-70 triumph at the University of Chicago.  It represented the first time in program history that an Emory team had come away with wins at those venues during the same weekend, and just the fourth time in UAA history.  Junior Austin Claunch turned in a solid pair of contests, registering team highs in points (15.5 ppg), assists (8.5 apg), steals (2.0 spg), field goal percentage (.625) and minutes (39.0 mpg).  Emory’s 11-3 record is the second-best 14-game mark in school history, behind only the 1989-90 team’s effort of 13-1.

Case Western comes to town with an overall slate of 7-7 and is in sole possession of first place in the UAA with a mark of 3-0. Last weekend, the Spartans posted victories over a pair of Top 25 foes, defeating then No. 25 New York University, 80-76, on Friday and then-No. 13 Brandeis, 66-63, on Sunday. 

Carnegie Mellon will take a 5-8 effort (2-1 UAA) into Friday’s action at Rochester.  Last weekend, the Tartans defeated Brandeis, 53-52, and NYU, 76-70, at home.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

SERIES RECORDS -  In a series that dates from January of 1987, Case Western checks in with an all-time mark of 19-17 against Emory.  The teams split last year’s series, with Emory emerging with a 98-89 win in Atlanta and CWRU a 65-63 victor in Cleveland.  Emory has captured 10 of 17 meetings in games played on its home floor.

Emory leads in the all-time series against Carnegie Mellon by a 26-19 margin.  The Eagles won both  contests last year, 80-67 in Atlanta and 77-71 in Pittsburgh.  Emory is 18-4 against the Tartans in games played on its home floor.

DOUBLE-DIGIT OBSTACLES DON’T FAZE EAGLES – Friday’s come-from-behind triumph at Washington University 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 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 four departments. 

Heading into the weekend, Claunch holds down the No. 1 spot in assists (6.7 apg), free throw percentage (.881), steals (1.9 spg) and assist/turnover ratio (2.4).  In NCAA Division III statistics released for games played through Jan. 16, the 5-foot-9 point guard ranks fifth nationally in assists, 30^th in free throw percentage and 33^rd in assist/turnover ratio.  Other categories where he figures among the top 10 in the UAA include scoring (7^th, 14.4 ppg) and minutes (2^nd, 35.2 mpg).

Career-wise, the Cypress, Texas, native holds down the No. 5 spot on the school’s all-time list with 308 assists.  He is just three shy of tying Terry Gorsuch (1987-91) for the No. 4 spot on that chart.

GULOTTA’S 3-POINT FG STREAK STILL ALIVE – Junior Alex Gulotta’s streak of three-point field goals is now at 26 games, fourth longest in school history.  The 6-foot-1 sharpshooter knocked down five triples against Washington University on Friday and two against Chicago, running his season total to 50, good for 13^th place on the Emory seasonal chart. 

Gulotta played a key role in the victory over Wash U., draining three straight from beyond the arc in a 1:50 span that erased a two-point deficit and gave the Eagles a seven-point edge with 4:39 remaining in the contest.  As he heads into the weekend, Gulotta is among the UAA and national leaders in a couple of categories.  His average of 3.6 three-point field goals per game stands first among UAA players and ninth in the D-III ranks while his 50.0 percent mark from distance is fourth 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 112 three pointers and first in three-point percentage (.453).

GREVEN COMES UP BIG vs. CHICAGO – Sophomore Alex Greven totaled a team-high tying 18 points in the 78-70 win at Chicago and came through with a pair of huge buckets down the stretch in helping the Eagles to their first victory in the Windy City since 1994. Greven sank a big three pointer with 2:25 left in the game that gave the Eagles a 72-67 lead.  After the Maroons answered with a triple of their own with 1:15 remaining, cutting Emory’s advantage to two points, Greven hit a baseline runner with three seconds on the shot clock that boosted the team’s lead to four points with 38 ticks on the clock, which helped the squad close out the game on a 6-0 run. 

Greven, the UAA’s leading scorer with a 16.2 per-game average, has chalked up a team-high 12 double-figure scoring games and has led or shared for team scoring honors on four occasions.

DAVIS MAKING HIS MARK – Though Jake Davis saw his double-figure scoring streak come to an end at nine games after finishing with nine points against Chicago, the first-year performer has helped play a key role in the team’s 11-3 start.  The 6-foot-5 Davis leads all UAA freshmen in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and free throw percentage (.868).  His scoring average ranks him 12^th in the league while his rebounding and free throw percentage marks place him seventh and second, respectively. 

Davis has paced the club in scoring on five occasions and has been the club’s top board man in eight contests.  In his last eight games, he has been successful on 90.6 percent (29-of-32) of his tries from the charity stripe and has converted his last 18 straight foul shots since the second half of the Washington & Lee game.

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 80.1 percent (246-of-307) from the foul line.  The Eagles saw a 10-game streak of shooting 75 percent or better from the charity stripe end in the Washington Univ., game when it finished with a 64.7 percent (11-of-17) mark.  However, the Eagles bounced back in the following game when they knocked down 85.0 percent (17-of-20) from the stripe.  Emory is shooting 82.0 percent (141-of-172) from the stripe in its seven 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 30^th nationally with a showing of 88.1 percent (52-of-59).  Jake Davis (2^nd, 86.8%) and Alex Greven (6^th, 82.0%) are the other Eagles to hold down top 10 slots in the UAA.

EMORY NOTES – Emory leads the UAA and is 34^th among Division III schools in scoring (81.4 ppg) … In addition to its No. 3 rank in free throw shooting, the Eagles are tied for 19^th nationally in three-point field goals per game (9.1 tpg) … Emory has outshot six of its 14 foes from the floor this year … Emory has attempted more free throws than  the opposition in eight affairs … Junior Justin Resnick has three-point field goals in his last seven games and is shooting 41.3 percent (12-of-29) from beyond the arc in that stretch … In its seven home games, Emory is averaging 91.1 points while opponents are putting up 79.0 points … In seven road/neutral affairs, the Eagles are averaging 71.7 points while foes are averaging 68.3 … Emory finished the Wash U. and Chicago games with nine turnovers, the first time this season the Eagles had turned in back-to-back games of fewer than 10 turnovers … Sophomore Michael Friedberg leads the team and is No. 3 in the UAA with a 1.6 blocked shots per game average …  Friedberg will enter Friday’s game with blocked shots in his last five contests.