PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Johnson & Wales Wildcats managed to hold off the numerous comeback attempts of the Emmanuel Saints, claiming a 67-62 win on Tuesday night at the Wildcats Center in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats improve to 3-8 (1-1 GNAC) with the win while the Saints fall to 1-12 (0-2 GNAC) in defeat.
Despite the Wildcats leading for a majority of the game, Tuesday's GNAC battle was played within one possession or tied for the first 12:27, up until Wildcats first-year
Azariah Harrison made a three-pointer to give JWU at 21-17 edge. Johnson & Wales led by as many as seven in the opening half, eventually settling for a 34-28 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats continued holding off the Saints attempts at a scoring run while keeping their advantage at two possessions. A 10-4 run would put the Wildacts ahead by nine for their largest lead of the night with under seven minutes remaining. Now leading by nine with 5:50 to go, Emmanuel made their best push of the evening, closing within one.
A Saints 12-4 run over the next 3:56 nearly put the Saints back in front. Junior
Vondre Chase started the run with four straight points, before handing off the scoring to sophomore
Mahari Guerrier, who scored five straight for Emmanuel. Fellow sophomore
Noah Beaudet put the finishing touch on the 12-4 run with a three-point make that left Emmanuel down 60-59 with 1:54 to go.
But from there, seven of the final 10 points belonged to the Wildcats, including a three-pointer that beat the shot clock by junior
Izaiah Shaw-Glen, which gave JWU a 65-59 lead with 16.4 seconds remaining. Beaudet managed to answer back with a three-pointer of his own, cutting the deficit back to three, but late-game free throws for Johnson & Wales helped them hold on to the 67-62 win.
Wildcats first-year
Roel Figueroa led the home side with 18 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 shooting at the foul line. Shaw-Glen and first-year
RJ Jones each scored 10 points while Shaw-Glen added a game-high 15 rebounds.
Chase and Guerrier finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, each, for the Saints. Guerrier shot 7-of-14 from the field while Chase was 7-for-10 at the line. Beaudet added 11 points in 33 minutes, shooting 3-for-6 from three-point distance.
The Saints take a week off before returning to action on Wednesday, Jan. 15, hosting Lasell on Yosinoff Court at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats travel to Mitchell for a conference clash with the Mariners on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 3:00 p.m.