Emory Men's Basketball Winds Up UAA Road Action With Contests At Case Western & Carnegie Mellon

GAME FACTS -  The Emory men's basketball team plays its final regular-season road games of the year when it ventures to Case Western Reserve University for a Friday (Feb. 18) matchup before travelling to Carnegie Mellon for a Sunday (Feb. 20) contest.  Horsburgh Gym at the Veale Convocation Center on the Case Western campus will serve as the venue for the 38^th meeting between the Eagles and Spartans with tip scheduled for 8:00 p.m.  The scene shifts to Skibo Gymnasium on the Carnegie Mellon campus for the 47^th clash between the Tartans and Emory with that game slated for a noon start.

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).  During his tenure with the Eagles' program, he has compiled a school and career record of 50-47.

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 that 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 campaign of calling the shots for Case Western is Sean McDonnell (Boston College, 1996).  Prior to his appointment at CWRU, McDonnell served as the head coach at Hiram College for three seasons.

Tony Wingen (Springfield College, 1982) is in his 21st season as the head coach at Carnegie Mellon.  Wingen heads into the weekend with a school record of 240-282. In 23 years as a head coach, which includes a two-year stint at Sewanee, Wingen currently owns a career slate of 261-310.

2010-11 RECORDS – Emory has won its last five games to boost its overall record to 18-4 with its 9-2 effort in UAA action good for second place, one game behind the University of Rochester.  Last weekend, the Eagles used 18 points apiece by senior Julien Williams and junior Austin Claunch in recording a 92-67 triumph over Washington University before closing out the weekend with a wild 91-87 overtime decision over Chicago.  Claunch sparked the team's scoring effort against the Maroons with 26 points while Williams contributed a career-high 19 points and a season-best 13 rebounds. 

Emory's 18 wins represent the second-highest win total in school history behind only the 25 triumphs racked up by the 1989-90 team while the nine victories in league action ties the third-highest mark.  The eagles have clinched at least a second-place finish in the league, the program's highest finish 1989-90 (1^st).

Case Western will host Emory with an overall record of 8-14 including a 4-7 showing in league play.  Last weekend, the Spartans came out on the short end of road games to NYU, 73-63, and Brandeis, 55-53.

Heading into a Friday evening home game vs. Rochester, Carnegie Mellon stands 6-15 overall, 3-8 in league affairs.  The Tartans are looking to snap a three-game losing streak that includes 80-63 and 68-52 setbacks last weekend to Brandeis and NYU, respectively.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

SERIES RECORDS -  Case holds a slim 19-18 edge in the series with Emory that dates from November of 1987. The Eagles won the first meeting of this season back on Jan. 21 by a 97-73 margin with sophomore Alex Greven totaling a team-high 18 points.  The Spartans stand 10-8 vs. Emory in games played on their home floor.

Emory posts an all-time record of 27-19 against Carnegie Mellon and notched an 88-71 triumph over the Tartans in the initial meeting of the campaign.  Austin Claunch chalked up 25 points in that contest while sophomore Michael Friedberg snatched 11 boards.  The Tartans have captured 15 of 23 meetings played on their home floor vs. Emory.

WILLIAMS NAMED UAA CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Julien Williams was tabbed as the UAA Co-Player of the Week after helping the Eagles to victories over Washington U. and Chicago.  The 6-2 Williams averaged 18.5 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds in the wins and shot 76.5 percent from the floor, knocking down 13-of-17 attempts.  In the 92-67 triumph over WU, Williams tied for team scoring honors with 18 points, hitting seven-of-eight from the floor, including all three of his three-point field goal attempts.  In the team's 91-87 overtime win over Chicago, Williams came up with his first double-double of the year and second of his career with a career-high 19 points (second high on the squad) and a game-high 13 rebounds, his second-highest career effort. Williams sank six-of-nine from the floor and seven-of-10 from the charity stripe in recording his seventh double-figure scoring performance of the season.

Williams has added more firepower to the Eagles' offensive attack during the UAA portion of the schedule, registering double-figure scoring in seven of his last eight outings, and averaging 14.1 points and shooting 67.7 percent (44-of-65) from the floor in that stretch. Over the last six games, he has led or shared for the team's lead in scoring on three occasions.  In overall contests, he is shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, tops on the team and eighth among UAA players.  In league play, his 11.3 points-per-game scoring average ranks 15^th on the UAA ladder while his 59.7 percent mark from the field is No. 3.

Career-wise, the 6-foot-2 Williams has appeared in 94 games and holds down the No. 13 spot on Emory's all-time chart with 457 rebounds.

CLAUNCH SETS SCHOOL SEASON ASSISTS MARK – For the second straight year Austin Claunch established a school mark for most assists in a season.  In Friday's verdict over Wash U, Claunch doled out 12 assists, his fifth effort of double figures this season (sixth of his career), and topped his previous standard of 151 that he registered last year.  Against Chicago, he dropped seven more dimes to up his 2010-11 total to 164.  Through games played Feb. 12, Claunch tops the UAA in assists in both overall (7.5 apg) and league (8.1 apg) action.  

Career-wise, Claunch holds down the No. 3 spot on Emory's all-time ladder with 378 assists.  He is 11 assists shy of moving past Paul Damm (1986-90) into second place on that list.   

GULOTTA'S 3-POINT FG STREAK STILL INTACT – Junior Alex Gulotta sank three-point field goals in both games last weekend, running his streak to 34 games where he has knocked down at least one triple.  Gulotta drained four treys against Wash U. on Friday before hitting one against Chicago on Sunday, boosting his total this year to 67, good for the No. 3 position on the program's seasonal list. 

His 34-game streak of three-point field goals is third-longest in school history behind the No. 1 mark of 40 contests held by Jeff Hall and the No. 2 standard of 35 held by Robert Spivey.

As he heads into the weekend, Gulotta is tied for the No. 1 spot in the UAA with a mark of 3.0 treys per game while his 47.9 percent success rate from beyond the arc is good for the No. 3 position (minimum 2.0 makes per game).  He is averaging 12.1 points in overall contests, good for 12^th place among UAA players. 

Career-wise, he is 7^th on Emory's career ladder with 129 three pointers and first in three-point percentage (.449, 129-of-287).

EMORY SPREADS SCORING AROUND – The Eagles have had five players reach double figures in scoring on seven occasions this year.  So far this year, Emory has had players score 20 or more points on 14 occasions compared to last year's total of six.

Emory's balanced scoring attack is borne out by the fact that it has three of the top 10 and four of the top 12 scorers in the UAA.  Claunch tops the quartet with his 16.5 per-game average good for a third-place tie.  Sophomore Alex Greven ranks eighth in the league with a 15.0 points-per-game showing while freshman Jake Davis is 10^th at 13.0 points per game.  Gulotta is 12^th at 12.1 points per game. 

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 other wins 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.  On the road against Brandeis (Jan. 28), Emory stared at a 20-point hole with 12:32 left in the contest before rallying to force overtime where the Judges held on for an 86-82 victory.

THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL A KEY WEAPON – Heading into the weekend, Emory is averaging 9.0 three-pointers per game, good for the No. 1 spot in the UAA. The Eagles have registered a total of 198 triples, good for third place on the school's seasonal chart, and have four players who have sank 25 or more from beyond the arc.  Emory has had five or more players register three-point field goals in 10 contests, six of which have come in UAA games.  The Eagles saw eight different players account for triples earlier this year against Huntingdon (Jan. 2) and Piedmont (Jan. 3).

Emory has registered 10 or more three-point field goals in nine contests including a dozen vs. Washington University on Friday.  Heading into the weekend, the Eagles are just three treys from moving into the No. 2 spot for the program's second-highest total and 11 from bettering the current school mark of 208 set during 2008-09. 

DAVIS MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT – Jake Davis has made a big impact during his freshman season with the Eagles with his 13.0 points per-game scoring average good for the No. 3 spot on the team and the No. 10 position among UAA players.  Heading into Friday's game at Case Western, the 6-foot-5 Davis has scored in double digits in a total of 16 contests this year.  Davis, whose 48.6 percent mark from the floor is good for 13^th place in the conference, is also averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds per stint, good for eighth place in the UAA.  So far this year he has produced 13 efforts of six or more rebounds.

Davis ranks as the conference's top freshman in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage
(. 822, 74-of-90) and is No. 2 in field goal percentage.

Davis has paced the club in scoring on seven occasions and has been the club's top board man in eight contests.  In the Eagles' 13 home games, he is averaging 13.1 points and shooting 45.9 percent from the floor while tossing in 13.0 points and hitting on 52.3 percent of his field goal tries in the team's nine affairs away from the Woodruff PE Center.

FRIEDBERG FOR THE DEFENSE – Michael Friedberg blocked three shots against Wash U. on Friday before posting five rejections against Chicago on Sunday, boosting his season total to 48, good for the No. 2 spot on the school's seasonal ladder.  The 6-foot-6 Friedberg has blocked shots to his credit in his last 10 games and has recorded two or more blocks in 13 outings this season.  Heading into the weekend, he is No. 2 in the UAA in blocked shots in overall action (2.3 bpg) and tied for first in league contests (2.7 bpg).

NOTES – Sunday's victory against Chicago raised the team's record to 2-1 in overtime games this season, 5-5 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … Junior Justin Resnick has knocked down three-point field goals in his last seven and in 14 of the last 15 contests … Resnick has recorded nine games of two or more triples and is connecting at a 63.6 clip (7-of-11) in the last four contests … Emory, the No. 1 team in the UAA in free throw shooting (.793), connected on 81.8 percent (45-of-55) this past weekend and has shot 75 percent or higher from the stripe in each of the last four games, converting 84.0 percent (79-of-94) in that stretch … Emory's 33 free throws against Chicago on Sunday represented a season high and tied for the program's fifth-highest game total …   Emory has outshot 12 opponents from the floor this season and stands 11-1 in those games … The Eagles have turned the ball over fewer times than the opposition in 15 games and post a 13-2 slate in those contests … Emory's seven turnovers against Chicago represented the team's second-fewest amount of miscues this year and was the fifth time that it finished in single digits in that department.