St. Louis, Mo, Jan. 11, 2019 – Junior forward DeVaughn Rucker scored a career-high 25 points but it was not enough as the Washington University in St. Louis men's basketball team suffered a 108-98 defeat to Emory University Friday at the WU Field House in St. Louis.

Emory improved to 10-3 and 1-1 in the University Athletic Association (UAA), while WashU fell to 7-6 and 0-2 in the league.

Rucker was 7-for-14 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, and hit 8-of-10 from the foul line. He also tied a career-high with eight rebounds.

Freshman forward Justin Hardy had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while sophomore guard Jack Nolan added 19 points. Junior center Hank Hunter chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds in 10 minutes after being in foul trouble most of the game.

WashU shot 44.9 percent (31-69) from the field, and hit 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. Emory dominated the Bears on the glass (47-36) and in the paint (54-34).

Rucker's one-handed dunk over Lawrence Rowley gave the Bears an early 13-7 lead. WashU's lead grew to eight (15-7), but Emory answered with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 15-15 with 15:00 left.

Back-to-back threes from Rucker and freshman guard Charlie Jacob made it 21-19, and then triples from Hardy and junior guard Matt Nester extended WashU's run to 12-0 and made it 27-19 with 10:43 left.

WashU took its largest lead of the game at 35-24, but Emory responded with an 11-0 run to tie the contest. Emory took a 53-51 lead to half. 

The teams traded buckets in the opening five minutes of the season half, but a 10-1 run by Emory made it 73-65 following a three-pointer by Luke Morrison with 13:41 left. Hardy's free-throw capped a 12-2 run by WashU as the Bears gained the 76-75 advantage. 

Emory answered with a 7-0 run to take the lead for good at 91-87.

Matt Davet had 20 of his career-high 25 points in the second half, while Matthew Schner and Romin Williams added 15 points each. Rowley had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Emory shot 51.3 percent (39-76) from the field and hit 21-of-29 free-throws.

WashU hosts No. 12 Rochester (11-2, 1-1 UAA) on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 11:30 a.m.

BEAR NOTEBOOK: WashU leads the all-time series with Emory, 49-14, and the Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bears … WashU celebrated Military Appreciation Night … The game started 90 minutes late due to snow in St. Louis … The Eagles entered the game leading the conference in scoring (91.6) … The 108 points allowed are the most since 1997 … Emory's 108 points represented the second-high point total against WashU in the 63-game history of the series.