Boston - Men's Basketball opened the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) portion of the schedule in resounding fashion, handling the Chargers, 92-67. Emmanuel (7-7) used frenetic defense and stellar outside shooting to jump out to a 23 point advantage in the first half, and never looked back, defeating Colby-Sawyer (1-13).
The early afternoon start didn't affect the Saints today as from the opening tip the energy was apparent. The result was a 15-5 start just under five minutes into the game, highlighted by a steal and layup through contact from first year guard
Aidan Oliveira.
The story of the half for Emmanuel was their active hands on defense, forcing eight steals behind a relentless full court press. With one of the eight coming off a
Jack Assini theft and dime to first year guard
Manny Duran for the finish at the rim to give the team a 25-13 advantage with 9:13 remaining.
The lead continued to balloon for the Saints, behind the off-the-bench spark from first year guard
Danny Adams. He buried three three pointers and led the team in scoring with 14 early points, with his last three coming off another Assini assist to put the Saints up 40-17 with just over five to play in the period.
The gas pedal stayed down the rest of the half, as a buzzer-beating jumper from junior guard
Noah Beaudet gave the team a 23 point advantage at 55-32 when both sides headed into the locker room.
The offenses slowed down to start the second half, but the saints were still able to keep the chargers at bay, specifically when they were able to turn defense into offense. The highlight of this being a
Hansy Jacques one handed slam off a
Ryan Rangel steal to give the team a 27 point advantage at 68-41.
Assini provided even more of a boost off the bench in the second half, finishing a layup off a
Cameron Snowden feed, then following it up with a left wing three to give Emmanuel a 77-45 lead with just over eight to play, putting the finishing touches on an impressive win.
Adams led the team in scoring with 19 today, but four others contributed with double figures. Including a double-double from Jacques, the first of his career. First year guard Jakub Fiin made his collegiate debut as well as recorded his first basket, with a strong lefty finish at the rim. All these contributions helped power the team to a 92-67 GNAC victory.
The Saints return to Andy Yosinoff court for a 7:30 PM tipoff on Wednesday night for more GNAC action as they play host to Albertus Magnus.