Jan. 29, 2009

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Saints shot a season best 58.2% from the field en route to an 89-67 trouncing of Emerson College in Thursday night's men's basketball contest played at the Jean Yawkey Center. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win helped the Saints improve to 9-8 on the season and 6-4 in the conference. The Lions, who were in 2nd place in the league, dropped to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play.

In the first five minutes of play, the Saints stormed out to a 13-2 advantage and forced an Emerson timeout after a jumper by senior forward Andres Bustamante (Amherst, Mass.). Emerson began to chip away behind the solid play of junior guard Jeremy Shannon (Lowell, Mass.), who hit a three-ball and a lay-up to bring the Lions to within eight, 15-7, with 14:22 remaining in the first half.

The Saints held a solid 10-point lead until the five-minute mark. With 5:27 to play before the break, Emmanuel went on a 14-4 run to stretch the lead to nineteen points, 44-25. Three Lion free throws in the final minute cut the margin to sixteen points going into halftime, 44-28.

In the opening stanza, the Saints shot an incredible 63.3% (19-30) from the floor. Emmanuel was paced by Michigan natives, Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) and Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.), who combined for 20 first-half points on 8 for 12 shooting. The Saints doubled up the Lions on the boards, out-rebounding the visitors, 18-9.

Emerson came out of the locker room on fire, going on a 13-4 run to open the second period. After three tri-fectas from Emerson guard Tom Messinger (Florence, Mass.), the Saints found themselves up by just four points, 48-44, with 14:56 showing on the clock. The next six minutes belonged to Emmanuel. The Saints surged out to a sixteen-point lead, going on a 16-4 run, to bring the score to 64-48 with 8:38 to play.

The Lions continued to claw their way back into it. After another Messinger trey and five free throws by junior forward Bryan Rouse (East Greenwich, R.I.), Emerson cut the margin to eight (73-65) with 3:25 to go. The Saints turned up the heat again in the waning moments. A fastbreak dunk by senior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, N.Y.) ignited a 16-2 Emmanuel run that ended the game for the Lions.

Poor free throw shooting plagued the Lions, who hit just 12 of their 20 attempts. The Saints crushed the visitors on the boards, 45-20. Emmanuel's 58.2% shooting was the key to the game. The Saints hit 32 of their 55 attempts from the field, 4 of 9 from behind the arc (44.4%), and 21 of 27 (77.8%) from the charity stripe. Despite committing 19 turnovers, versus just 13 by the Lions, the Saints cruised to the twenty-two point victory.

On offense, Emmanuel had a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures. Junior guard Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y.) was the high man for the Saints, scoring 19 points on 7 for 10 shooting. Williams-Hinton and freshman guard Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) notched 15 points apiece, while Buchanan finished up with 13 points for Emmanuel. Spellman notched another double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Messinger was huge for Emerson, leading the Lions with a game-high 20 points. The sophomore guard hit six of his nine attempts from three-point land and shot 7 for 10 from the field for the game. Rouse chipped in with 14 points, earning six from the line. Shannon played a solid game for the Lions, scoring 12 points, to go along with a team-high 7 boards, and game-high 8 assists.

Emmanuel will be back in action on Saturday, when the Saints travel to New Haven, Conn. To take on the Falcons of Albertus Magnus College in a 3:30 start. Emerson will take on Saint Joseph's College (ME) on Saturday in a 3pm tip.