ATLANTA – Playing for the first time nationally ranked, the No. 25 Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team lost at No. 12 Emory University, 78-65, in Friday night University Athletic Association action at Woodruff P.E. Center.

The Spartans (12-3, 3-1 UAA) had won six in a row, while the Eagles (12-3, 2-2 UAA) had lost their last two.

Three scored in double-figures for CWRU led by senior forward Dane McLoughlin (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Preparatory) with 15 points on five three-pointers. McLoughlin's third trey of the night gave him 200 for his career and broke the CWRU record previously held by John Link (1999-03).

Senior guard Julien Person (Paris, France/Second Baptist, Texas) scored 12, and freshman forward Eric Black (Avon Lake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) added 10.

Emory's Alex Foster led all scorers in the game with 24 points. Austin DaGue and Michael Florin contributed 16 and 14, respectively.

The Spartans stormed out to an early advantage and led 10-2 at the 16:42 mark with a layup by senior center Connor Edel (Akron, Ohio/Revere). Emory then pulled to within 12-11 thanks to a 9-1 run which culminated in a Florin layup at 13:55. Just over four minutes later, the Spartan lead was back to eight, at 23-15, following a free throw by Black.  

From there, a 10-0 run gave Emory its first lead (25-23) as Foster hit a three-pointer with 7:53 on the clock. Five lead changes and one tie followed, and Emory led at the break, 38-35.

In the second, an 11-3 run put the Eagles on top 51-44 as DaGue hit a trey with 12:58 remaining. The Spartans got back to within four (55-51) after a layup from freshman forward David Black (Avon Lake, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) at 10:57, but Emory opened the game up with a 10-0 run that ended in a Foster free throw with 5:04 left to play.

The Spartans conclude their first of two straight UAA road weekends this Sunday, January 25 at the University of Rochester (N.Y.). Tip-off from the Louis Alexander Palestra is set for 12:00 p.m.