Men’s Hoops Opens Slate with 62-51 Win Over Framingham State

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel College, 62; Framingham State University, 51

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (1-0, 0-0 GNAC)
Framingham State University Rams (1-2, 0-0 MASCAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court  

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021

THE LEAD – Powered by a strong second half performance, the Emmanuel College men's basketball team topped Framingham State University 62-51 Friday evening to open the 2021-22 campaign in Day 1 action of the EC Tip-Off Classic.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints opened play with a quick 12-3 lead behind three triples from sophomore guard Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) and another trey from graduate student Zach Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.).
• Framingham State settled in and over the next eight minutes of action was able to cut the lead to one at 16-15 following a triple by Ivan Nyantenji (Nashua, N.H.) with 8:35 to play in the opening frame. The squads traded hoops into the break with the hosts on top by a 24-22 margin.
• The Rams evened the score on their first possession of the second stanza with a layup from JD Okafor (Boston, Mass.) to make it 24-24 but an answer from sophomore Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) with 19:03 left in regulation gave EC the lead for good and was the start of an 11-0 run that moved the score to 35-24.
• FSU never let the game get out of reach but a thunderous dunk by EC junior forward Ted Weber (Orange, Conn.) with 6:57 to play to make it 54-41 was the dagger that crushed any momentum the visitors had going down the stretch.
• A Crisafulli layup with 1:37 to play opened Emmanuel's largest lead of the evening at 62-46 before the Rams closed out the action on a 5-0 spurt to account for the 62-51 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Crisafulli ended the night one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards while Ciccio closed the game with a team-high 14 points. Weber also just missed the double-double scoring nine points while grabbing a game-high 10 boards.
• Nyantenji led all scorers with 18 points going 4-for-5 from downtown while Okafor added 11 points in 35 minutes of action off the bench. Junior guard Javaris Hill (Lynn, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds, a team-high.
• EC shot 53.3% from the field in the second stanza (16-30) and outrebounded FSU by a 19-13 margin in the strong second half showing.
• The win was the first collegiate head-coaching victory for Emmanuel first-year Head Coach Littell White.

UP NEXT

• Both squads are back in action tomorrow in Day 2 of the EC Tip-Off Classic. The Saints played Bridgewater State University at 6:00 PM while the Rams take on Endicott College in the nightcap at 8:00 PM.