BOSTON – Emmanuel men's basketball is in search of its first win of the new season after the final three minutes of Saturday night's EC Tip-Off Consolation Game lifted the SUNY Polytechnic Wildcats to a 75-66 win over the Saints on Yosinoff Court.

The Saints sit at 0-3 with a trio of home losses to open the 2024-25 campaign. The Wildcats picked up their first victory, moving to 1-1 with the win.

A three-point field goal by Emmanuel junior Zaire Baines with 2:40 remaining in regulation gave the Saints a 62-61 advantage. From there on, Emmanuel wouldn't see the lead for the rest of the night as the Wildcats played well at the right time to come away with the win.

It all started with a 9-0 SUNY Poly run that spanned 67 seconds, helping the Wildcats to an eight-point lead. Free throws for SUNY started the run while back-to-back Saints turnovers led to a fast-break layup and three-pointer for the Wildcats. A pair of free throws capped the nine-point surge that put the Wildcats ahead 70-62.

With the Saints only closing within a half-dozen in the final minute, the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to leave no doubt and take a 75-64 lead. A last-second Saints layup cut the deficit to the eventual final of 75-66.

In that final 2:40, SUNY Poly outscored Emmanuel 14-4, shooting 3-of-3 from the field and 7-for-8 at the foul line while the Saints shot just 2-of-5 in the closing stretch.

Late game turnovers were only part of the story as the Wildcats took advantage of the Emmanuel miscues all night, outscoring the Saints 33-14 in points off turnovers.

Wildcats senior Cheickne Toure scored a game-high 20 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. LaMarqus Merchant Jr. added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Anthony Rose chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds. All 75 SUNY points came from the starting five of the Wildcats.

Saints junior Ismani Cepeda and sophomore Noah Beaudet both finished with 13 points for the home side. Cepeda added three rebounds and three steals while Beaudet shot 5-for-11 from the floor. Baines added a dozen for the Saints to go along with a game-high seven assists.

The Saints look for their first win of the season and finish out a four-game homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 20, as they welcome Westfield State to the Jean Yawkey Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip.