SAINTS TAKEN DOWN IN HOME OPENER, 79-68

THE BASICS 

Score: Wheaton College, 79; Emmanuel College, 68

Records: Wheaton College Lyons (2-0); Emmanuel College Saints (0-2)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2018

THE LEAD: Led by the duo of Duaka Ekwensi (Morris Plains, N.J.) and Alex DuBrow (Foxboro, Mass.), the Wheaton College Lyons defeated the Emmanuel College Saints, 79-68, despite strong offensive play by sophomore Zachary Crisafulli (Hatfield, Mass.) on the Andy Yosinoff Court on Tuesday, November 13th.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The first half began with a quick 17-5 run by the Saints, highlighted by nine quick points by Crisafulli and a shots from behind the arc by freshman Giovanni Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.) and sophomore Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn.).
• The Lyons started to close the lead slowly through the middle half of the first thanks to made free throws by the starters and the beginning of the aggressive offense by Ekwensi, 30-24.
• EC was closed down offensively through the last eight and a half minutes of the first half, only scoring four points while the Lyons were able to produce both in the paint and behind the arc, heading into half ahead of the Saints 46-34.
• The Saints came out of the break with a strong move in the paint by Crisafulli that drew a foul for the completed and-one, but the momentum was stifled quickly as senior Riley Tetreault (Walpole, Mass.) connected on back to back to back shots, including two three-pointers, to increase the lead for the Lyons, 58-39.
• Emmanuel's Ciampa and Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) helped to close the lead back to 13 points midway through the second half, but DuBrow and Davis Carbonello (Windham, N.H.) of Wheaton continued to have the hot hand, increasing the lead 68-51.
• The final eight minutes of play was hard fought by the Saints as Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.) and Ruffen made late game shots, but the Lyons were able to take the night ahead of the Saints, 79-68.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• The starting five of the Lyons scored 69 of the total 79 points on the evening, while the Saints distributed 17 points across their bench.
• Four of the five starting Lyons finished the game with double digit points, while Crisafulli and Ruffen were the only Saints that finished with double digit points, combining for 29 points.
• DuBrow finished the night with a game high seven assists along with 19 points for the Lyons, while Moulder recorded four assists for the Saints, along with nine points and four rebounds.
• The Saints were able to control the boards on the evening, outrebounding the Lyons 35-25.
• Emmanuel was the more aggressive team, recording a total of 26 personal fouls while Wheaton only recorded 13.

UP NEXT

• The Lyons head back on the road on Friday, November 16^th for a 6PM matchup against Drew University.
• Emmanuel only has one day to rest before hosting Dean College on Thursday, November 15^th at 7:30PM on the Andy Yosinoff Court.