Emory Men's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season At Rochester

GAME FACTS -  The Emory men's basketball team winds up the regular-season portion of the schedule on Saturday (Feb. 25) when it plays at the University of Rochester.  The Louis Alexander Palestra on the UR campus will serve as the venue for the 40^th meeting between the schools and tip is slated for 4:00 p.m.

A video stream for the game will be available.  To access the Rochester webcast, please go to – http://www.rochester.edu/athletics/webcast/palestra_webcast.html

THE COACHES - Leading the Emory program is fifth-year Head Coach Jason Zimmerman (Davidson, 1994). 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 71-53.

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 league win total in school annals.  

Luke Flockerzi (Grinnell College) is in his second season as head coach of the Rochester program and will bring a school mark of 38-14 into Saturday's contest.  Prior to his current post, Flockerzi served as the head coach at Skidmore College for three seasons (2007-08 through 2009-10).

RECORDS – Emory stands 19-5 overall, 8-5 in the University Athletic Association, good for a second-place tie with New York University.  The Eagles split a pair of road games last weekend, losing in the last second at Carnegie Mellon, 82-79, before coming away with a 105-71 decision over Case Western.  The team's 19 victories are the third most in school history.

Rochester has won five of its last six games and will meet Emory with an overall record fof 16-8, 7-6 in the league.  Last weekend, the Yellowjackets lost at Case Western, 76-73, before bouncing back to claim an 81-74 decision at Carnegie Mellon.  UR has won all 11 of its home games this season.

SERIES RECORDS – In a series that dates from January of 1988, Rochester claims a 31-18 all-time mark against Emory. The Eagles won the initial meeting of this season, 83-81, as Jake Davis converted a put-back at the buzzer to give Emory the triumph.  Senior Austin Claunch spearheaded the team's scoring attack with 27 points.   UR stands 20-4 all-time vs. Emory in games played on its home floor.

EAGLES SET SCHOOL THREE-POINT RECORD – Emory's 11 three-point field goals against Case Western Reserve enabled the Eagles to establish a school record for most treys in a season.  Emory will check into the Rochester game with 224 triples, bettering the previous mark of 219 set by the 2010-11 squad.   The Eagles have five players who have converted 20 or more triples this season and rank first among UA teams and 16^th nationally with an average of 9.3 three-pointers per game.  Through 13 conference encounters, Emory posts a 8.9 per-game showing in treys, also good for the No. 1 spot.  The Eagles have chalked 10 or more three-point field goals in 14 contests this year and sport a 12-2 won-lost slate in those games.   In the Eagles' 13 away/neutral games, they are shooting 36.3 percent (121-333) from distance and posted a 37.9 percent (103-272) showing in their 11 home games.

GREVEN CHURNS OUT BIG NUMBERS IN CMU & CWRU GAMES – Junior Alex Greven was chosen as the UAA Player of the Week for the second time in his career after turning in a pair of big offensive performances against Carnegie Mellon and Case Western.   The 6-foot-3 Greven averaged 26.5 points and 5.0 rebounds over the two games, starting off the weekend by leading all players with a season-high 27 points against the Tartans of CMU, sinking 11 (second-highest total by an Emory player this year)-of-16 field goal attempts, including three-of-seven from three-point range.  He followed that effort with a game-high 26 points in the 105-71 decision over Case, knocking down nine field goals in 15 tries and four-of-eight from distance.  In the two games combined, he converted 64.5 percent (20-of-31) from the floor including 46.7 percent (7-of-15) of his trey attempts.

Entering the Rochester game, Greven has notched double-figure scoring in nine of his past 10 outings and has produced four performances of 20 or more points in that stretch.  Despite missing five games earlier in the year with an injury, the 6-foot-3 Greven heads into this Saturday's action
having totaled 11 performances of 10 or more points this year, 10 of which have come during UAA play.  Greven is averaging 12.8 points per game in overall action, good for 11^th on the UAA ladder, while his 15.2 per-game effort in league contests ranks ninth. 

He currently owns the team's longest streak with 13 straight games of three-point field goals and stands 12^th in the conference in three-point shooting in overall action (.424) while placing seventh for league contests only (.455). Another important statistic is his free throw shooting where he is connecting at .891 clip (49-of-55), tops on the UAA ladder. Over the last seven games, he is shooting 92.6 percent (25-of-27) from the stripe.

FRIEDBERG BLOCK STREAK INTACT – Junior Michael Friedberg extended his streak to 18 games with at least one blocked shot last weekend when he swatted away three shot attempts in both the Carnegie Mellon and Case Western contests.   Friedberg enters Saturday's action No. 1 in the UAA and 11^th nationally in blocked shots with a 2.6 per-game average.  He has two or more blocks to his credit in 15 outings this year and his 60 total blocks rank second on Emory's seasonal chart.  Friedberg now holds the Nos. 2 and 3 positions (51 in 2010-11) on that list.

Career-wise, Friedberg stands third all-time at Emory with 129 blocked shots, just nine shy of tying the No. 1 mark of 138 held by Tim Garrett (1986-90).   In addition to his blocks numbers, he ranks No. 2 on the team and ninth in the UAA in rebounding with a 6.0 per-game showing.  He has finished with six or more boards in 12 games this year and has four outings of double figures.  He has either led or shared for team honors in rebounding on seven occasions in 2011-12.  He is 17^th on the school's career rebounding ladder with 369 caroms to his credit.

On the offensive end of the floor, he is averaging 11.1 points per game, good for 19^th place among UAA players in overall scoring.  He is team's No. 2 shooter with his 50.8 percent mark (94-of-185) 11^th on the league ladder.  He has scored in double figures on 13 occasions this season including eight of his last 11 outings.

CLAUNCH FUELS THE EMORY ATTACK – Senior Austin Claunch saw his streak of scoring in double figures end at 36 games when he finished the Carnegie Mellon contest with nine points.  He did dole out eight assists and come up with two steals against the Tartans before closing out the weekend with 19 points, nine assists and four steals in 33 minutes of play against Case Western. 

The team's leading scorer on seven occasions this year, Claunch is second on the squad and fourth among UAA cagers in overall scoring (18.0 ppg) while his 18.5 per-game effort in league plays tops the team and ranks second on the UAA ladder.  In addition to his scoring averages, he paces the conference in assists in both overall (7.3 apg) and league (7.5 apg) action with his overall mark placing him No. 3 nationally and second on the Eagles' all-time seasonal list. His 17 assists over the weekend, upped his total to 174, second on Emory's seasonal chart (his 186 assists last season is the No. 1 mark) , and he will hold the top three positions on that list when his career is completed. 

A look at the UAA stats heading into the final weekend of regular-season action shows that Claunch ranks among the top 10 UAA performers in seven statistical categories.  Besides his scoring and assists, he is fourth in free throw percentage (.879, 80-of-91), second in steals (2.0 spg), first in assist/turnover ratio (2.9), ninth in treys per game (1.8 tpg) and first in minutes (34.8 mpg).   Claunch has played games in their entirety on nine occasions this year.  

He has come through with 20 or more points in nine games this season and has 16 during his career with Emory registering a 13-3 record in those affairs.  Claunch averaged 18.8 points and shot 44.7 percent from the floor in Emory's 11 home games and is tossing in 17.4 points and shooting 49.4 percent from the field in the team's 13 away/neutral contests. 

Claunch's efforts against CMU and CWRU boosted his career scoring total to 1,280 points, good for fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list.  He has 434 career field goals to his name, sixth all-time at Emory, and he ranks 10^th on the Eagles' career chart with 121 three-point field goals.  Already the school career record holder with 574 assists, Claunch ranks prominently on the school's all-time ladder in free throws (5^th, 291), free throw percentage (2^nd, .878) and steals (4^th, 166). In addition, he has drawn 76 starting assignments, 7^th all-time at Emory.

EAGLES HANDLING THE ROCK WITH CARE  – Heading into the regular-season finale at Rochester, Emory is averaging 11.3 turnovers per contest in overall play, the fewest by any UAA team and good for 14th place on the national scene.   The Eagles have finished in single digits in turnovers on nine occasions this season which has helped them pace the league and rank 9^th among D-III programs in turnover margin (+5.88).  In conference outings, Emory ranks first with just 10.1 turnovers per game.   The Eagles have finished with fewer miscues than their foes in 22 games this season including last weekend's contest, recording 11 turnovers against CMU and 8 vs. Case while those opponents finished with 14 and 22, respectively.  

DAVIS PUTTING UP BIG NUMBERS -- Jake Davis enters the Rochester game as the lone Eagle to registered double-figure scoring in all 23 of the team's games this season after totaling 11 points against Carnegie Mellon on Friday before notching 21 points (second high on the team) against Case Western, his 10^th performance of 20 or more points this season.  The team's top point producer on 10 occasions in 2011-12, The 6-foot-5 Davis paces the club and stands second in the UAA in overall scoring (18.9 ppg) while his 18.4 per-game mark in league games is third.  His 454 total points makes him the third-most prolific sophomore scorer in Emory history. 

In addition, Davis is shooting a keen 53.0 percent (157-of-296) from the floor, good for seventh on the league ladder, and claims 15 games of 50 percent or better from the field including seven of his last nine outings where he is connecting at a 54 percent (54-of-100) clip.  He has been opportunistic from beyond the arc with his 43.9 percent effort (25-of-57) ranking him 11th on the conference ladder.  In his last seven games, he has been successful on 61.1 percent (11-of-18) of his triple tries. 

Davis averaged 18.6 points and shot 50.7 percent (77-of-152) in Emory's 11 home games while putting up 19.2 points and converting 55.2 percent (90-of-163) from the field in the Eagles' 13 away/neutral contests.

Davis stands as the team leader in rebounding with a 7.0 per-game showing, good for the No. 4 spot in the league and an 18^th-place tie on the school's seasonal list.  He has topped the squad in rebounding in 13 games in 2011-12 and his six double-figure efforts in that category has boosted his career total to 10 games.  He has 321 career rebounds, good for 20^th place on the school's career list.

NOTES – Emory's UAA-leading 84.5 points per game average ranks No. 3 on the school's seasonal ladder … The Eagles' 105 points against Case Western on Sunday tied the program's fourth-highest total in a conference contest … Emory's point production against Case was the third time this season and the eighth time during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach that it reached or surpassed the 100-point plateau … Emory posted back-to-back halves of 50 points or better against Case (55-50), the second time this year that it had accomplished that  … The Eagles have tallied 50 or more points in 11 halves this year … In Emory's 19 victories, it is shooting 76.6 percent (294-of-384) from the free throw line … In the five setbacks, the Eagles are connecting at a 67.5 percent (83-of-123) from the charity stripe … Michael Friedberg's 11-point, 11-rebound performance against Case was his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career … In the last six games, Emory is averaging 10.0 turnovers compared to the opposition's mark of 18.3 miscues and enjoys a 128-53 advantage (21.3 ppg vs. 8.8 ppg) in the points-off-turnovers category … Emory has had six different players lead the team in scoring this season, headed by Jake Davis in 10 contests with Austin Claunch next up at seven games … Emory stands 13-2 this year when attempting more free throws than the opposition, 6-3 when the opponents have more attempts from the stripe … The Eagles stand 18-1 when leading at the break this season, 55-9 during Jason Zimmerman's tenure as head coach … Emory has outshot 14 opponents from the floor this year … The Eagles have shot 70 percent or better from the foul line in 15 games and stand second in the league and 27^th nationally in free throw percentage (.744) … Emory has scored 90 or more points under Zimmerman on 26 occasions and posts a 23-3 slate in those contests … Emory has recorded 10 or more steals in 10 games this season and starts the weekend as the league leader in thefts (8.8 spg) … Over the past two seasons, Emory was won 23 of 25 home games including 13 of 14 league contests … Emory posts a 9-0 ledger this season when outrebounding the opposition, 10-4 when its foe enjoys an edge on the glass … The Eagles are shooting 46.3 percent (378-of-816) from the floor during the first half and 45.6 percent (314-of-688) in the second stanza … Senior Alex Gulotta has 178 career three-pointers to his credit, good for the No. 3 spot on Emory's all-time list, four shy of tying Jeff Hall (2002-06) for the No. 2 position … Gulotta is tied for seventh in the league with a mark of 1.9 treys per contest … He has recorded 12 games of two or more triples this season … Senior Justin Resnick has nine games of two or more triples this year including six contests of three.