Washington U. outscored Emory 25-9 in the final 10 minutes of the game, but a desperation three-pointer by sophomore Troy Ruths, Sugar Land, Texas was off the mark as time expired.
The Bears were sluggish early on and held its only lead of the game after Ruths scored a lay-up on the first possession. Washington U. would trail the rest of the half committing 13 turnovers, one less than their 14.0 average per game. WU cut the lead to 18-17 at the 10:38 mark after a three-pointer by Junior Nick Nikitas but would get no closer in the first half.
Spiro Ferderigos, who led Emory with 13 points in the first half, hit a three-pointer and connected on two-free throws to lead the Eagles on a 13-1 run to gain the 35-19 advantage. Emory (8-5, 1-1 UAA) took its largest lead of the half at 44-22 with 1:17 left after Adrian Sosa drained two free-throws.
Despite trailing 44-26 at halftime, the Bears shot 45.8 percent (11-24) from the field and 60 percent (3-5) from three-point range. Emory had a 16-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half.
The Bears pounded the ball inside to open the second half and WU responded with an 8-2 run to trim the lead to 47-34. Trailing 65-46 with 10:24 left, the Bears mounted a comeback as they outscored the Eagles 16-5 in the next five minutes to cut the lead to 71-61 with 6:06 remaining.
Ruths scored a lay-up, sophomore Danny O'Boyle hit a three and junior Neal Griffin and Nikitas scored fast break lay-ups as WU scored nine straight points to cut the lead to one at 71-70 with 1:11 remaining. Johnny Pinto made 1-of-2 free-throws and Adrian Sosa added two from the charity stripe to push the lead to 74-71.
Ruths led the Bears with a game-high 23 points as he scored in double figures for the 18 consecutive game dating back to last season. He also added a career-high 12 rebounds in the loss. For the game, Washington U. shot 50 percent (26-52) from the field and outrebounded the Eagles 38-29. The Bears shot 30.8 percent from beyond the arc in the loss, including 12.5 percent (1-8) in the second half.
Sosa and Ferderigos led Emory with 18 points each, while Pintos added 14. The Eagles hit 10-of-22 (46%) three-pointers in the victory.
Washington University (9-3, 1-1 UAA) returns to action Sun., Jan. 15 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. (EST).