MORGAN POURS IN 26 IN LOSS TO EMERSON

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team fell to Emerson College, 73-65, in a cross-town rivalry, which took place in Emerson's Brown-Plofker Gymnasium on Monday afternoon.  The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss dropped Emmanuel to 4-12 on the season and 4-5 in league play.  Emerson improved to 8-8 overall and 6-3 in the GNAC with the win.

Emmanuel got out in front early, holding a 12-7 lead after a three-pointer and a lay-up from senior captain Michael Connor Morgan (Glocester, R.I.) just four minutes into the game.  The Lions then went on a 10-0 run over a span of five minutes to surge out in front, 22-17.  The hosts would carry a 42-28 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.

The Lions jumped out by 16 points to start the second half, 46-30, but Emmanuel went on a 15-3 run in a four-minute stretch, backed by the long-range shooting of Morgan.  Morgan buried three consecutive trifectas to bring the Saints to within four points at 49-45 with 14:24 left in the game.

After a lay-up by Alex Myers (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), Morgan netted two lay-ups and drained another from behind the arc, as the Saints trailed 55-54 with 11:17 to go.  This was the closest Emmanuel would come, however, as the Saints were held to just one field goal over the next six minutes of action.

Despite outscoring the Lions, 37-31 in the second half, the Saints were unable to regain momentum.  Trailing by five with four minutes to go, Emmanuel turned the ball over twice and Emerson hauled in two key offensive rebounds.  The Lions ultimately won the game on the free throw line down the stretch, holding on for the 73-65 win.

The Lions shot 70.6% (12-17) from the line, compared to just 33.3% (5-15) shooting from the stripe by the Saints.  Emmanuel got just 11 points off the bench, compared to 27 from the Lions' reserves. Emerson won the battle of the boards, 44-35.

It was a career-high day for Morgan, who netted 26 points off 9 for 14 shooting, including draining 6 of 7 from downtown.  Classmate and fellow team captain Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) hit for 16 points, while junior forward Theo Robinson (Springfield, Mass.) led the Saints with 10 boards.  Both Everson and Robinson dished out 5 assists in the effort.

The Saints will return to action this Thursday night, when Emmanuel hosts the Monks of Saint Joseph's College (Me.) in a 7:00 PM start.