SAINTS DOWN LYONS, 80-65

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College cruised to an 80-65 win over Wheaton College in non-conference men's basketball action played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night.  The win boosts the Saints to 2-3 on the season, while the loss drops Wheaton to 2-3 overall.  With the victory, the Saints even the all-time series with the Lyons at 2-2, having one both of the contests in Emmanuel's Jean Yawkey Center.

The Saints jumped out to an early lead, following a three-pointer from Matt Raine (Miami, Fla) and a steal and a lay-up from Kyle Davis (Groveland, Mass.).  With EC holding a 17-13 edge at 11:12, the Lyons were forced to signal for a thirty-second timeout.  A three-ball from Wheaton's Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) cut the Lyons' deficit to one and the Saints called a thirty of their own, up 17-16 with 9:29 showing on the clock.  Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.) then dialed in from download to swing the advantage over to the visitors, coming out of the timeout.

Emmanuel took advantage of solid post play from John Clay (Westport, Mass.) and Aidan Hadley (Owls Head, Maine) over the next four minutes and held a five-point edge, up 27-22, at the five-minute mark.  A baseline drive from Davis gave EC its largest lead of the half at 31-23 with just over three minutes to go in the stanza.  The Saints held on to their lead for the remainder of the half and carried a 33-27 edge into the locker room at halftime.

Clay and Davis led the Saints with six points apiece at the break.  Battaglia led the Lyons with 10 first-half points, including knocking down 2-3 from behind the arc.  Wheaton shot 50% from three-point range, draining 4-8 in the opening frame. Emmanuel controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Lyons, 21-14, in the first half.

The Saints stretched their lead into double-figures through the first six minutes of the second half, capitalizing on a trifecta from Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) and a bucket down low from Hadley.  Emmanuel would open the half on an 11-4 run to take a 44-31 lead with 13:34 left to play.

Three-balls on consecutive possessions from rookie guard Colin Cordero (Bolton, Conn.) and Raine put the Saints up sixteen, 52-36.  Freshman guard Josh Bushman (Hurst, Texas) then drained one from long-range to stretch the hosts' lead up over twenty points at 58-36, nearing the ten-minute mark.  Two more bombs from Smith made it a 64-38 game with just under eight minutes to go.

Wheaton then put together a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to 64-51 with 5:19 left to play.  Battaglia was fouled on his three-point try and sent to the line, where he sunk all three attempts to make it a 66-54 game.  Despite scrappy full-court pressure and the late run from the Lyons, Emmanuel was able to hold on to its double-figure spread over the waning moments and pulled out the 80-65 win.

The Saints would score 27 points from behind the arc, shooting 60% (6-10) in the second half.  Smith led EC with 22 points, hitting four three-pointers, to go along with his four assists.  Bushman and Julian Diggs (Upper Marlboro, Md.) finished with 10 points apiece, while Clay and Davis chipped in with eight points each and combined for 17 rebounds.  Hadley finished with a solid line of 6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for the Saints.

For Wheaton, Battaglia's 25 points led all scorers.  The junior guard went 11-11 from the line, hit 5-11 from the field and dropped 4-7 from three-point range.  Freshman forward Liam Bruno (Newton, Mass.) finished with 10 points, while rookie guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass.) added nine.

Both teams will be back in action following the Thanksgiving break. Emmanuel will take to the court on Tuesday, December 2nd, when the Saints travel to Rivier University for their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener, set to begin at 7:30 PM.  Wheaton will play again on Thursday, December 4th, when the Lyons host Fitchburg State University in a 7:00 PM tip.