Feb. 18, 2012

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - Using a balanced offensive attack that saw four players in double-figures, the Emmanuel College men's basketball team notched a 68-53 victory over Mount Ida College Saturday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. With the victory, the Saints finish the regular season with an overall record of 12-13 and a Great Northeast Athletic Conference mark of 11-7 while the Mustangs conclude their regular season at 9-16 and 6-12 in the GNAC.

Leading by eight at the half (34-26), Emmanuel came out of the halftime break flat, allowing the Mustangs to cut their lead to four (34-20) following a layup by forward Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, Mass.) but the Saints would score the next six points capped by a layup by sophomore forward Theo Robinson (Springfield, Mass.) to take their largest lead of the game at the time at 40-30 with a little more than 16 minutes of action remaining.

After the Saints increased their lead to 48-33, the Mustangs went on a 5-0 spurt capped by a layup from senior guard Keith Jones (Boston, Mass.) to make it 48-38 with just under 11 minutes to play but a three from junior swingman Connor Morgan (Chepachet, R.I.) increased the Saints lead to 51-38.

Two possessions later, Morgan would hit another three from the wing to make it 54-41. His third trey of the half would put Emmanuel ahead 57-42 and then on the next possession, the junior slammed home a fast break dunk to give EC a 59-42 lead with 7:20 left to play. The Morgan show would continue as the junior nailed another three at 6:11 to increase the hosts lead to 62-42.

Junior forward Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) got involved in the dunk-train, throwing down a slam around the 4-minute mark to make it 66-48, EC. Over the final few minutes Emmanuel would wind down the clock and hold on for the 68-53 win.

In the first half of play, the Mustangs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead following a three point bucket from senior guard Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, Conn.) on the first possession of the game but the Saints would respond with a 7-0 spurt capped by a trey from Everson to make it 7-3 at the 17:41 mark. The next hoop in the contest came from Hillery on a layup and the bucket for Hillery was the tri-captain's 1,000th career point of his collegiate career.

Mount Ida would hang close and one of two free throws by senior forward Joe Cabral (Walpole, Mass.) pulled the visitors to within a point at 9-8 but it would be the closest they'd get for the remainder of the half.

EC senior guard Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) converted a layup with 11:19 to play to put the hosts on top 13-8 but an old-fashioned three-point play by junior center Jeff McNair (Brockton, Mass.) made it 13-11 with less than 10 minutes to go in the opening frame. The Saints would answer with an 8-2 run as Morgan capped the spurt with a three point field goal to make it 21-13 with 7:25 remaining.

A pair of free throws by Hillery with 2:36 remaining in the stanza made it a 27-24 contest but the Saints would retain the eight-point lead heading into the half, taking a 34-26 advantage into the locker room.

Both Everson and Morgan finished the afternoon with 17 points apiece to lead the Saints in scoring. Robinson chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds while Duke added 11 points. During the win, Duke surpassed Bobby Brown ('05) to become the program's third leading scorer and now has 1,207 points.

For the Mustangs, Benjamin netted a game-high 22 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field while Hillery finished the game in double-figures with 11 points. McNair also was in double-figures with 10 points. During the action Cabral grabbed six rebounds, to put him over 500 for his career.

Both teams have qualified for next week's GNAC tournament. The Mustangs will be the \#7 seed and travel to St. Joseph's (ME) on Tuesday while the Saints will have to await to result of today's 3:00 PM Lasell vs. Norwich contest to determine their seeding.

Prior to the start of the contest, the Emmanuel Athletic Department recognized the three seniors from the men's basketball family in Duke, Nate Jackson (Middleboro, Mass.) and Andre Fuller for their contributions to the program over the past four years.