The Bears missed their first nine shots of the game, and the Eagles responded by scoring the game's first 15 points by the 14:08 mark. Junior Calvin Williams ended the scoring drought for the Bears at the 13:54 mark when he drained a three-pointer from the corner.
Washington U. trailed 20-6 when sophomore Brandon York and freshman Troy Ruths took over for the Bears. The two combined to score 13 straight points as WU trimmed the lead to 26-19 after a three-pointer by York.
Rashawn Allen of Emory pushed the lead back to double-digits (41-28), draining a 25-foot three-pointer with 28 seconds left in the half.
Chase Fawsett of Emory led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half while Jeff Hall added 13 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range. The Bears were out rebounded 29-13 in that frame and shot just 34.5 percent from the field. WU also struggled from the free throw line (7-of-16) and three-point range (2-of-11).
Emory opened the second half with four straight points to take its largest lead at 45-29, but junior Scott Stone nailed a 25-foot trey to trim the lead to 45-32.
WU head coach Mark Edwards went to his bench early in the second half and it paid off. York hit a three to cut the lead to 50-39, and freshman Jim Grabowski scored on a put-back to cut the lead under double digits at 52-44 with 12:20 left.
The Bears cut the lead to seven (58-51) with nine minutes to play after a basket by Ruths, but Washington U. would get no closer. Emory posted just its seventh win in 36 career meetings with the Bears.
Stone led the Bears with 11 points while York and Ruths added 10 points off the bench. Fawsett led four Eagles in double figures with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Hall had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Allen filled the stat book up with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Washington University (13-8, 5-5 UAA) returns to action Sunday, Feb. 13 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (EST) at Horsburgh Gymnasium.