WESTFIELD, Mass. – Emmanuel College men's basketball secured a convincing 66-55 road victory over Westfield State on Tuesday night at the Woodward Center. The Saints improve to 4-3 on the season, handing the Owls their first loss of the season. Emmanuel established control early and never trailed, building a 33-24 halftime advantage and maintaining their lead throughout the second half despite several Westfield State rallies.
Emmanuel's scoring was distributed across the roster, with five players reaching double figures. Noah Beaudet paced the Saints with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting, adding six rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Emmanuel built its lead steadily in the first half, shooting 44.1% from the field while holding Westfield State to just 32.4% shooting and 0-for-7 from three-point range. The Saints' largest lead came at 31-17 with 3:52 remaining in the first half. Beaudet scored 11 of his 14 points in the opening period, while Mahari Guerrier added seven first-half points to help establish the advantage.
Guerrier provided 13 points off the bench, connecting on 5-of-12 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. His energy sparked several key runs for the Saints. Midway through the first half, Guerrier went on a seven point run over three minutes that gave the Saints a 12 point advantage and his two layups in the second half pushed the Emmanuel lead to 14 with 8:33 remaining.
Emmanuel established its dominance on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 55-41. The Saints grabbed 13 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second-chance points, compared to just six for the Owls.
The performance of the night came from freshman Aidan Oliveira, who had his first collegiate double figure performance and earned his first career double double. Oliveira controlled the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds (4 offensive, 11 defensive) while adding 10 points. The guard was 7-of-10 from the free-throw line in the second half, helping Emmanuel seal the victory down the stretch. He also contributed four assists and a steal in 31 minutes of action.
Manny Duran also scored in double figures for the Saints, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulling down seven rebounds. Cameron Snowden added 11 points and contributed seven rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes off the bench. The Saints' bench outscored Westfield State's reserves 28-5.
Westfield State made a run early in the second half, cutting the deficit to just two points less than five minutes into the half, but the Saints responded with a nine point run to open the score back up and kept steady pressure the rest of the way. Kenney Rogers led the Owls with 14 points, while Xavier Lewis added 13 points, including a late 3-pointer that brought Westfield within nine.
Emmanuel's free-throw shooting proved crucial down the stretch. The Saints converted 14-of-21 (66.7%) from the charity stripe in the second half, with Oliveira going 7-of-10 to help ice the game.
Emmanuel will look to build on this road victory as they travel to Brandeis University on Saturday, December 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Waltham.