ATLANTA – The Connecticut College men's basketball team returned to the floor on Thursday afternoon following a 17-day layoff, falling by a 69-61 final to No. 16 Emory University in the opening round of the Emory Holiday Classic. 

Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) led the way for the Camels (8-4 overall) with a season-high 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) also finished in double figures with 14 points while David Murray (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.

Three-pointers by Ryan Banks (Bracknell, England) and Elias Espinosa (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) kept Conn in the game early. However, Emory took control behind a 13-0 run that yielded a 25-11 lead with 12:36 left in the opening half. The Eagles led by as many as 19 before settling in with a 45-30 advantage at the break.

The Camels spent the entire second half playing catch-up, trimming the deficit back to single digits on a bucket by Schainfeld with 13:22 remaining. RJ Casey (Nashville, Tenn.) followed with a layup and a free throw to pull Conn within five, and Flynn made it a one-possession game with a second-chance effort in the paint with 11:37 to go.

Conn went scoreless over the next 4:30 minutes but stifled Emory on defense to stay within striking distance. Schainfeld then scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the margin back to three, and later a three-pointer by Billy Whelan (Hamilton, Mass.) brought the Camels to within two at 53-51 with 5:27 left.

Benjamin Pearce had the answer for the Eagles, scoring the next five points to keep the hosts ahead. Conn's final push left it down three with 1:36 remaining, but Emory shot 9-for-10 from the free throw line the rest of the way to snuff out the comeback.

Pearce led all scorers with 20 points and shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. 

Conn College returns to action at the Emory Holiday Classic on Friday, December 30 against Piedmont University at 2:00 p.m.