ATLANTA, Ga. – The No. 11 Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team came away with a big UAA road win over No. 2 Emory, 81-63, on Sunday afternoon. The Bears improve to 14-2 overall with a 4-1 mark in conference play.
 
The victory marks the first top-10 win for the Bears this season.
 
First-year Connor May scored a career-high 21 points and had a career-high 13 rebounds for his first-career double-double as a Bear. Senior Hayden Doyle netted 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds and junior Yogi Oliff scored 10 points.
 
Tied twice in the opening three minutes, the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 lead at the 16:12 mark.
 
Down eight points with 13:14 on the clock, the Bears started a 9-0 run that ultimately put them in the lead. Oliff started the run with a layup, followed by back-to-back layups from May. The first-year then drilled a 3-pointer to put WashU ahead 18-17 midway through the half.
 
A 9-0 run for Emory put the Eagles ahead by nine points again, but the Bears bounced back with a 10-1 run to go ahead. Grudzinski hit a layup, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Ryan Cohen and Doyle. Oliff put in a fastbreak layup at 4:59 to give WashU a 28-27 lead.
 
As the clock ticked down in the first half, the game was tied twice and the lead changed three times. Tied at 33 apiece with 1:46 on the clock, Doyle hit a fastbreak 3-pointer to give the Bears a 36-33 edge at the break.
 
Through much of the second half, the Bears continued to hold on to a small lead, but the tide really started turning with just over five minutes remaining.
 
Up four points, May had an offensive putback which started a 12-0 run for WashU. Grudzinski hit a pair of free throws and May put in back-to-back buckets. Doyle and senior Drake Kindsvater each added two free throws to put WashU ahead 71-55 with 2:00 remaining in regulation.
 
In less than a one-minute stretch, the Bears scored 10-straight points, all on free throws, to extend their lead to 20+. The Eagles scored the final five points of the game, giving WashU the 18-point, 81-63 win.
 
The Bears shot 26-for-65 (40%) from the field and 8-for-25 (30%) from 3-point range. A total of 38 points came from the Bears' bench and WashU out-rebounded the Eagles 46-37.
 
WashU is back home next weekend for games against Brandeis on Friday evening at 5:30 and at 2 p.m. against NYU on Sunday. The game against Brandeis will mark the Hardy Strong game as well as a alumni weekend.