Second Half Surge Sends Saints Home With 78-65 Win vs. ENC

BOSTON - Trailing by six at halftime, the Saints best second half performance of the early season was on the way, as Emmanuel opened the second half on a 31-6 run, erasing the halftime deficit on their way to a 78-65 win over the Eastern Nazarene Lions on Tuesday night in the final game for both sides before the Thanksgiving break.

Second Half Surge Sends Saints Home With 78-65 Win vs. ENC
Program Video Box Score

Team Stats

November 23, 2021

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel 78 – Eastern Nazarene 65

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (4-1)
Eastern Nazarene College Lions (4-4)

Location: Boston, Mass. – JYC Gymnasium/Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021

THE LEAD – Trailing by six at halftime, the Saints best second half performance of the early season was on the way, as Emmanuel opened the second half on a 31-6 run, erasing the halftime deficit on their way to a 78-65 win over the Eastern Nazarene Lions on Tuesday night in the final game for both sides before the Thanksgiving break.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • A Lions six-point halftime lead was erased by Emmanuel in the opening 8:55 of the second half with the Saints starting the half on a 31-6 run while shooting a red hot 12-of-17 from the field. The Saints led 62-43 after outscoring the Lions by 25 points to start the second half.
  • Emmanuel led by as many as 24 in the second half, their largest lead over any opponent this season. With 19-of-32 shooting in the second half, the Saints posted 47 points while shooting 59.4 percent from the floor, as they marched on to a 78-65 win to improve to 4-0 this season on Yosinoff Court.
  • The Lions brought the game early in the first half, opening the game on a 15-5 run in the first 4:10 of the first half. ENC shot 5-of-6 in the run, including five points each by junior Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) and sophomore Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.).
  • ENC led by as many as a dozen in the first half, but Emmanuel outscored the Lions 17-11 over the final 8:46 of the first, leaving the Saints trailing by six, 37-31 at halftime.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Saints sophomore Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) posted another strong performance with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Pope scored all 13 of his second half points in the Saints opening run of the second half.
  • Senior Giovanni Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.) finished with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
  • Graduate Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) added 11 points while sophomore Eljay Morris (London, England) accounted for nine of the Saints 22 bench points.
  • Manso scored a team-high 15 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line.
  • Senior Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) chipped in with 12 points and matched a game-high with eight rebounds.
  • From the Saints largest deficit of 12 with 8:46 remaining in the first half to their largest lead of 24 with 5:57 remaining in the second half, Emmanuel outscored Eastern Nazarene 62-26 over that span of 22:49.

UP NEXT

  • The Saints are off for a week and return to play after the Thanksgiving break on Tuesday, Nov. 30, as they host the Fitchburg State Falcons at Yosinoff Court for a 5:30 p.m. tip.
  • The Lions also return to play after Thanksgiving on Tuesday, Nov. 30, as they travel to Northern Vermont at Lyndon for a 6:00 p.m. game.