Manoli’s Career-High 32 Points Lifts Men’s Basketball to a 95-83 Victory at Emory

(ATLANTA, Ga.) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to play Emory University on Friday, January 17, as Senior Christian Manoli (San Rafael, Calif./Terra Linda) scored a career-high 32 points in a 95-83 University Athletic Association (UAA) victory for the Tartans.  The win moves Carnegie Mellon's record to 8-5, 1-1 while Emory is now 9-4, 1-1.

The first nine minutes of play saw eight lead changes as Emory grabbed a 21-19 lead following a pair of foul shots by Alex Foster.  The Eagles pushed their lead to seven at 33-24 with 3:04 to play in the half, but Carnegie Mellon fought back.

Over the last three minutes of the half, the Tartans went on a 10-2 run cutting the home teams lead to 35-34 heading into the locker room. Manoli led the Tartans with 13 first half points as he converted 4-of-6 from the field.

Carnegie Mellon came out in the second half and picked up where they left off prior to the break.  The Tartans scored eight of the first 10 points of the half over the first three minutes to take a 42-37 lead. Two minutes later, Emory then answered the visitor's run with an 11-3 scamper of its own and took a 54-51 lead with 13:12 on the clock.

Tartan senior Asad Meghani (Dallas, Texas/The Greenhill School) took matters into his own hands and scored seven straight to give Carnegie Mellon a 58-54 lead.  From there, the lead changed hands seven times and the score was tied six before the Tartans took the lead for good with 4:03 to play. Manoli converted the traditional three-point play that gave the Tartans a 75-73 edge.  

On the Tartans next possession down the court, freshman Jack Serbin (New Albany, Ohio) connected on a long ball from the corner to make the score 78-73.  The Tartans then used a stellar performance from the foul line down the stretch to secure their eighth victory of the season.

Carnegie Mellon shot 47% from the floor to Emory's 40%. The Tartans controlled the glass 49-30.  Manoli finished the game shooting 7-of-13 from the field while converting 18-of-21 from the charity stripe. He also hauled in nine rebounds.  Four other Tartans scored in double figures with senior Rashaun Riley (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek) having a season-high 20. Meghani ended with 19 followed by senior Rob Mohen (Stamford, Conn./Regis (NY)) with 12.  Serbin rounded out the top scorers for the Tartans with 10 points as he also grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds to polish off his first career double-double.

Jake Davis led Emory with 30 points and seven rebounds.  

The Tartans will continue UAA play on Sunday, January 19 when they travel to Rochester, New York to play the Yellowjackets of University of Rochester.  Tip is set for 12:00 p.m.