SENIORS CLUTCH FROM THE LINE AS MEN’S HOOP POSTS BIG WIN ON SENIOR DAY

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior guards Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.) sunk clutch free throws down the stretch, as the Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team edged the visiting Raiders of Rivier University, 67-62, on Saturday afternoon in the Jean Yawkey Center.  The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) battle marked a must-win game for the Saints, as the team strives to keep their hopes for a post-season tournament bid alive.

With the win, the Saints' first victory at home this season, Emmanuel now stands at 5-18 on the season and 3-13 in GNAC play.  Rivier falls to 8-15 overall and 5-11 in the league.  Emmanuel celebrated the four-year careers of the five seniors on the squad, Alex Myers (Long Beach, Calif.), Cadeem Lewis (Bronx, N.Y.), Steve Bankert (Clinton, N.Y.), Welles and Jones, prior to tip-off. View the Senior Day PHOTOGALLERY.

The Saints came out of the gates slowly, going without a field goal through the fifteen-minute mark, as Rivier quickly surged out to a 6-1 advantage, forcing EC to burn a timeout at 14:25.  A jumper by Jones ended the drought for the Saints with 11:35 showing on the clock, and Emmanuel trailed, 8-4.  Senior forward Tom Poitras (Bow, N.H.) netted six of the Raiders' first ten points, forcing another Emmanuel timeout with the visitors up 10-6 and 9:25 showing on the clock.

Following a Riv bucket by Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.), EC sophomore forward John Clay (Westport, Mass.) picked off a pass at mid-court and found James Sullivan (Wethersfield, Conn.) for a hoop in the paint, as the Saints trailed, 14-8.

The Saints kept it close in the waning moments of the half, as rookie forward Lyndon Harewood (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored down low and Welles buried a three-ball.  However, Poitras continued to shine for the Raiders, as he scored twelve of the visitors' 22 points and the Raiders led, 22-17.

Freshmen Carder Chatey (Ashford, Conn.) and Tyler Russ (Stratham, N.H.) came off the bench and drained consecutive triples from the left wing before the end of the half, cutting the Emmanuel deficit to 25-24, as the teams entered the locker rooms at the break.

Poitras was the only double-figure scorer in the opening frame.  He finished the low-scoring first half with 13 points, going 6-7 from the floor.  Harewood and Sullivan led the Saints with five points apiece.

Following a Riv hoop by Jake Nelson (Nashua, N.H.), Bankert stuck a three at the opposite end and Emmanuel trailed, 34-31, five minutes into the second frame.  Russ brought the Saints back to within one (36-35), hitting a jumper nearing the ten-minute mark.  Clay went to the line and connected on both ends of a one-and-one to give the Saints the lead, 37-36, with 10:12 showing on the clock.

Emmanuel held on to its slim lead for the next two minutes, before an and-one by Poitras knotted the score at 41-all. Welles then poured in consecutives treys, forcing a Rivier timeout with the Saints up 47-43 and 7:30 left to play.  A pair of free throws by Poitras would tie the game again at 50-all, before Sullivan knocked down a three for the Saints.

Rivier would forge a tie again at 53-all, before Russ dialed in again from downtown and Emmanuel led, 58-54, with just under three minutes left.  Welles and Walch exchanged lay-ups at either end and the Saints led, 60-58, with 1:58 to go.

Poitras' fifth foul sent Welles to the line with 1:32 on the clock and the senior guard hit one of two to take a 61-58 lead.  Rivier sophomore forward Kywane Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) threw one down with authority and Clay scored in the post at the other end to set the score at 63-60 with less than a minute to go.

The Raiders couldn't connect on their three-point attempt, following a Rivier timeout with 44 seconds left and the visitors were forced to foul.  Welles was clutch from the line, sinking both of his free throws to give the Saints a 65-60 edge.

Walch then scored with 11.7 seconds left, but the Raiders were forced to foul again.  This time it was Jones, who drained his free throws and the Saints came away with the 67-62 win.

Poitras led all scorers with his game-high 27 points off of 10-13 shooting from the floor and 7-8 shooting from the line.  Walch recorded a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, to go along with his six assists.  Francis added 11 points in the effort for the Raiders.

Both Welles and Clay led the Saints with 14 points apiece.  Welles went 3-4 from behind the arc, while dishing out a game-high seven assists.  Sullivan finished with 13 points and four rebounds in the win for EC.  Russ chipped in with his collegiate career-high of eight points for the Saints.

The Raiders edged the Saints in the battle on the boards, 32-31.  The Saints shot well from three-point range, hitting 8-15 (53.3%), including pouring in 5-6 in the second half.

Emmanuel is back in action on Tuesday night (2/18), when the Saints host the Rams of Suffolk University in their last home game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM.  Rivier also plays on Tuesday night.  The Raiders will travel to Lasell College for an 8:00 PM start with the Lasers.