LATE RALLY PUSHES SAINTS PAST MUSTANGS, 70-64

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's basketball team downed Mount Ida College, 70-64, on Wednesday evening in the Jean Yawkey Center for the Saints' third-straight victory.  Emmanuel improves to 7-11 overall and 5-7 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with the win, while the loss drops the Mustangs to 4-14 and 2-9 GNAC.  Tonight's win marks the first time since January of 2012 that the Saints have strung together three consecutive victories.

The Saints trailed for the entire first half and for five minutes of the second, but would outscore their opponents, 43-31, in the second frame to pull off the come-from-behind win.  The GNAC battle featured six ties and seven lead changes over the final fifteen minutes of action.

Mount Ida opened up an early 14-7 lead, but back to back hoops from junior big men Kyle Davis (Groveland, Mass.) and John Clay (Westport, Mass.) cut EC's deficit to three at 14-11 with 12:34 remaining in the half.  The score held for nearly four minutes, but sophomore guard Tyler Russ (Stratham, N.H.) ended the drought with a lay-up for the Saints at 8:53.

Mount Ida went five minutes without a score, before rookie guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas), stole it in the backcourt and sank the fastbreak bucket to set the score at 16-13 with 7:49 to go in the half.  Emmanuel sophomore Aidan Hadley (Owls Head, Maine) then completed a traditional three-point play to knot the contest at 16-all.

Long-range bombs from Mount Ida's Brendan Cunningham (Quincy, Mass.) and Clark would sandwich a trey at the opposite end by Clay to set the score at 26-20 at the five-minute mark.  A monster dunk from freshman forward Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.) put the Mustangs up 28-22. 

McKearney's slam was part of a 7-2 run by the visitors that was capped with an and-one from Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) nearing the two-minute mark and the Mustangs led 33-24.  An EC free throw and a lay-up from Davis would send the Saints into the locker room at halftime down six points, 33-27.

A turnover-filled first half featured the Mustangs committing 15 turnovers and the Saints with 13 errors in the opening twenty minutes.  EC out-rebounded Ida, 21-19, in the first frame.  Dujon and Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) led all scorers at the break with seven points apiece for Mount Ida.

Coming out of the break, Mount Ida guard Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) stuck a three from the left wing to give the Mustangs their first double-figure lead of the night, up 38-27.  The Saints then put together a 7-0 run, capped with a three from Russ, to bring EC back to within four at 38-34.  Russ continued to spark the hosts, connecting on an and-one and a three-ball on consecutive possessions to give Emmanuel its first lead of the night at 41-40 with 15:36 on the clock.

The advantage quickly swung back to Mount Ida, but Jordan DeMario (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) drained one from behind the arc to tie it and Hadley sunk a jumper to put EC up 50-48, forcing a timeout by the Mustangs at 10:56.  Dujon would score quickly out of the timeout to forge the game's fourth tie.

Consecutive hoops down low from Davis would put Emmanuel up four, but DeFillippi then notched his second trifecta of the night to set the score at 54-53. DeFillippi would capitalize on a steal in the backcourt to give the Mustangs a 57-56 edge nearing the eight-minute mark.

Hadley forged a tie again at 60-all.  Following an Emmanuel timeout, Dujon and Clay traded triples to then set the score at 63-63 for the game's sixth and final tie of the night.

A Davis lay-up put EC up 65-64 and Mount Ida signaled for a timeout with 2:18 left to play in the game.  Russ would get to the line for two shots with 1:28 on the clock and the sophomore guard sunk both to give Emmanuel a 67-64 lead.  The Saints' full court pressure forced an Ida turnover and Clay layed one in, as Emmanuel surged out in front, 69-64 with less than a minute left.

One final free throw by Russ would seal the deal for the Saints.  Mount Ida couldn't connect on any of their three-point tries down the stretch and the Mustangs did not score for the final 4:35 of the contest, as Emmanuel pulled out the 70-64 come-from-behind win.

A balanced attack by the Saints featured four players scoring in double-figures, led by Clay with 16 points and seven steals.  The junior captain shot 6-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2-2 from behind the arc.  Russ finished with 15 points, after his huge 13-point second half.  Davis added 15 points, six boards and three assists, while Hadley finished just shy of a double-double with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Dujon led the Mustangs with his game-high 18 points.  DeFillippi scored 10 points and hauled in six boards, while Macklin chipped in with nine points in the effort for Mount Ida.  The Mustangs shot 90.5% (19-21) from the line as a team on the night.

Both teams return to GNAC action this Saturday, February 7th.  The Saints will host Johnson & Wales University in a 1:00 PM tip, while the Mustangs host Lasell College at the same time over in Newton, Mass.