Emory Men's Basketball To Make Home Debut

GAME FACTS -  After playing its opening five contests on the road, the Emory men’s basketball squad will make its home debut on Wednesday (Nov. 30) when it plays host to LaGrange College.  Following that affair, the Eagles entertain Covenant College on Saturday evening (Dec. 3).  Both games will tip at 7:00 p.m.

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is fifth-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 57-48.

Last season, Zimmerman directed the Eagles to an overall record of 20-5, the program’s first 20-win campaign since 1989-90.  In addition, Emory placed second in the University Athletic Association with an 11-3 slate, the second-highest total in league play in school annals.  

Kendal Wallace (Maryville College) is in his first season as head coach of the LaGrange College program.  Prior to his current post, Wallace served as an assistant coach at Maryville College for five seasons (2006-07 through 2010-11).  During his stint with the Scots, he helped the program to four Great South Athletic Conference championships and four trips to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2011-12 campaign marks the third season that Kyle Taylor (UCLA, ’05) has served as the head coach at Covenant College.  Prior to his current post, Taylor served as an assistant coach at Division II institution Minnesota State during the 2008-09 season.

Emory's Top Offensive Scoring Efforts Under Zimmerman  

 RECORDS – Emory, ranked No. 13 among D-III programs by D3hoops.com, starts the week with a 5-0 record.  This past weekend, the Eagles claimed a pair of wins at the Maryville College Classic, defeating LaGrange, 107-89, on Saturday before battling to a 75-61 triumph against Maryville on Sunday.  The squad’s 5-0 slate marks the second straight season and fifth time in school history that Emory has won its opening five games of the year.

LaGrange comes to Atlanta looking to shake a three-game losing skid that has dropped its record to 2-4.  After losing to Emory, the Panthers came out on the short end of an 83-68 verdict to Oglethorpe at the Maryville College Classic.

Covenant College will take a 3-1 ledger into a Tuesday evening home game against Sewanee.  In their most recent outing, the Scots suffered a 67-58 setback at Rhodes College on Nov. 22.

SERIES RECORDS -  The win on Saturday upped Emory’s all-time record against LaGrange to 16-3.  Emory has a 7-0 mark against the Panthers in games played in Atlanta including last season’s 81-67 decision at the Woodruff PE Center.

Emory and Covenant met for the first time last season (Dec. 7, 2010) on the Scots’ home floor with the Eagles registering an 80-67 decision.  Leading the way for  Emory was Jake Davis with 18 points and six rebounds.

EMORY AND HOME OPENERS – Emory has enjoyed a fair amount of success in its home openers, chalking up a 20-5 record in those games.  The Eagles have captured their last seven home-opening contests including last year’s 92-84 overtime victory against Oglethorpe.  LaGrange has been Emory’s home-opening opponent on three occasions (2002, 2006, 2009) with the Eagles winning all of those encounters.

NOTES – Emory has scored 50 or more points in three of 10 halves this year … Through five games, the Eagles are averaging 46.0 points during the first half of play and 42.8 points in the second stanza … Opponents are scoring at a 30.8 points pace during the opening 20 minutes of action and 38.0 in the second half …  Emory has outscored the opposition in nine of 10 halves … The Eagles’ 107 points against LaGrange last Saturday represented the highest point total during Jason Zimmerman’s tenure as head coach and was the eighth-highest in school history … The 107 points vs.  LaGrange represented the 21^st time during Jason Zimmerman’s tenure as head coach that it has scored 90 or more points in a game with the Eagles showing an 19-2 record in that affairs … Since the 2009-10 season, Emory claims a 13-1 record in November contests and is 17-6 in such games during Zimmerman’s stint as head coach … Emory saw a streak of outrebounding the opposition end at four games as Maryville finished with a 38-35 advantage in the department … Through games played Nov. 27, among the categories the Eagles lead the UAA in are - scoring offense (88.8 ppg), scoring margin (20.0), free throw percentage (.769) and steals (10.2 spg) … The Eagles are shooting 47.1 percent (82-of-174) from the floor during the first half and 53.0 percent (78-of-147) in the second stanza …  Opponents are shooting 41.6 percent (62-of-149) in the opening half and 41.9 percent (70-of-167) over the final 20 minutes.  

CLAUNCH BECOMES EMORY’S ALL-TIME ASSISTS LEADER – Senior Austin Claunch further etched himself in Emory’s basketball record books last week when he became the school’s all-time leader in assists.  Heading into the LaGrange game, he needed six assists to surpass the previous standard of 421 held by Paul Schuliger (1987-91), and set the record with 15:29 left in the game when he assisted on Michael Friedberg’s layup that gave Emory a 77-64 lead.  Claunch concluded that game with a season-high eight assists and doled out seven more the following day against Maryville to boost his career total to 431.  At the start of the week, Claunch is averaging 6.2 assists per contest, good for the No. 2 spot in the UAA, while logging 29.6 minutes per outing

DAVIS PUTTING UP IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS – Sophomore Jake Davis turned in a big week, averaging team highs in points (23.0 ppg), rebounds (7.0) and field goal percentage (.643) in helping the squad to three victories. Davis knocked down 27-of-42 field goal tries and 13-of-17 from the charity stripe in boosting his team and UAA-leading scoring average to 21.4 points on the young season.  The 6-foot-5 Davis turned in a huge effort against LaGrange with a career-high 33 points while pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the campaign and fourth of his career.  Davis converted 14-of-18 from the floor against the Panthers, tying the fifth-highest game total in school history, while his point production was the highest individual mark during Zimmerman’s tenure as head coach. Davis has scored in double figures in all five games.

RESNICK MAKES FIRST CAREER STARTS – With Alex Greven nursing an injury, senior Justin Resnick stepped in and drew his first starting assignments as an Eagle this past weekend at the Maryville College Classic.  Resnick averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 32.5 minutes in the two games.  After knocking down three treys en route to nine points against LaGrange, Resnick totaled 11 points and led the team with eight rebounds in the 75-61 win over Maryville.  Resnick drained three more triples in that contest, increasing his team-high mark to 11 on the year. At the start of the week, he is No. 6 in the UAA in three-point field goals per game (2.2 rpg).

EMORY DRAWS PRESEASON RECOGNITION --  Emory is ranked nationally among D-III programs, earning a No. 13 spot in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll and a No. 19 spot as picked by D-III News.  The ranking in the D3hoops.com Poll is the highest ever in the school history. 

In a poll of the league’s coaches, Emory and the University of Rochester were picked as the co-favorites to claim the UAA crown in 2011-12.  The Yellowjackets of UR captured the conference title a year ago with a 12-2 record while Emory was one game behind at 11-3.