Men's Basketball Opens Season with 74-70 Win at Fitchburg State

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Emmanuel Saints men's basketball program earned their third straight opening night win after defeating the Fitchburg State Falcons, 74-70, on Thursday night at the Parkinson Gymnasium. 

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 70, Emmanuel 74
Records: Fitchburg State (0-2) | Emmanuel (1-0)

How It Happened

The Falcons raced out to a 9-4 advantage on the back of junior Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.), who notched all nine points for Fitchburg State. The Saints collected a pair of free throws from Zaire Baines (Queens, NY) and a layup from Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.)  to cut the deficit to 15-11. Semedo responded with five straight to move the Falcons' advantage to 26-19.

Trailing 26-21, the Saints knocked down a three-pointer from Walker Baillargeon (Norwich, Conn.). However, the Falcons would reel off seven straight points with a pair of layups from junior Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.), sandwiched around a deep three-pointer from rookie Tyrone Manderson (Saugus, Mass.).

Emmanuel closed out the first frame with a 14-2 run. Baines had a pair of buckets from beyond the arc, and Ryan Grijalva (Statham, NH) added four from the charity stripe in the run as the Saints went into intermission with a 38-37 lead.

Manderson opened the second half with a jumper to regain the lead for the Falcons (39-38). Emmanuel answered with six straight capped by a trey from Ricky Martin (Sicklerville, NJ) to force a Green and Gold timeout. A layup from Pope with 11:20 to play gave the Saints a ten-point lead (55-45). Fitchburg State responded with buckets from Semedo and Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) to knot the game at 57-57.

With three minutes remaining, sophomore Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) hit a jumper and drained a three-pointer to take a 67-66 lead. However, a pair of baskets from Pope and four straight from the free-throw line sealed the victory for the visitors.

Inside the Numbers

Semedo led the Falcons with 24 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.) added six points, seven caroms, five assists, and a steal.

Donte Pope had a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Grijalva and Baines each contributed 14 points for the Saints. As a team, Emmanuel was a perfect 18-for-18 from the foul line.

Up Next

The Saints return to action for their Home Opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16, as they welcome Brandeis University to Yosinoff Court for a 7:30 p.m. tip. Fitchburg State will head to Western Connecticut this weekend for the Wolves Classic. The Falcons face WestConn on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Portions of this release courtesy Fitchburg State Athletic Communications