Men's Basketball Suffers First Loss of the Season, 90-71 at Emerson

THE BASICS 

Score: Emerson 90, Emmanuel (Mass.) 71

Records: Emerson Lions (2-1) ; Emmanuel (Mass.) Saints (3-1)

Location: Boston, Mass. (Brown & Plofker Gym)

Date: November 20, 2021

The Lead: Senior Jarred Houston helped power the Emerson men's basketball team with a double-double of 24 points and 20 rebounds followed by three more double-digit showings from the Lions as the hosts picked up their second straight over Emmanuel (Mass.), 90-71, on Saturday afternoon. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Houston: 24 points, 20 rebounds & four blocks
Nate Martin & Max Davis: 15 points
James Beckwith: 10 points
Zach Waterhouse: four assists
Martin, Waterhouse, Chad DiCenzo & Davis: two steals

EMMANUEL (MASS.) 

Donte Pope: 26 points
Zach Crisafulli: 11 points & two steals
Pope & Devin Pulsifer: six rebounds
Dakota Wheeler: three assists

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Within the opening four and half minutes, there were three lead changes between Emerson and Emmanuel before the Saints took the outright lead. At 15:45, a bucket from Crisafulli began a 10-0 that put Emerson in a 17-9 hole. 
• Emerson continued to trail Emmanuel by a margin of at least nine over the next several minutes before a Ted Weber trey extended the Saints lead into double figures for the first time at 28-17. 
• The Lions battled and starting on a Waterhouse layup at 5:37, started to make their move back into the game. Houston rattled off six straight points to put Emerson within one and was quickly followed by a jumper by DiCenzo that dropped in at 2:51 to put the Lions in front, 38-37. 
• Through the remaining 2:51 of the half, Emmanuel missed five of its six shot attempts, which allowed Emerson to use a Beckwith triple and trey by Houston to enter the half up 43-40. 
• In the opening minutes of the second frame, Emerson continued to deliver on the offensive side. A 12-2 spurt ballooned the Lions' advantage into double-figures at 55-44 before Crisafulli ended Emmanuel's scoring stall with a bucket at 16:08. 
• Emerson kept dropping basket after basket, never letting Emmanuel ever get too comfortable as the Lions successfully held the Saints in a double-figure deficit through the remainder of the game. 
• At 1:59, junior Steven Fabrizio saw his jumper fall through to give Emerson its largest lead at 19 with the score at 90-71, which would ultimately be the game sealer for the Lions. 

UP NEXT 

• The Saints play one final game before Thanksgiving break as they host Eastern Nazarene College on Nov. 23 at 5:00 p.m.
• Emerson heads out on the road for its final game before the holiday on Tuesday, November 23rd over at Suffolk starting at 7:00 p.m. 

Release courtesy Emerson College Athletic Communications