SAINTS ROLL PAST CADETS TO WIN 10TH GNAC GAME
Feb. 10, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Men's Basketball Team cruised to a 75-53 win over the visiting Cadets of Norwich University in Tuesday night's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action played in the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints' win was their fourth in a row and their tenth in the conference. Emmanuel improved to 13-9 overall and 10-5 in the league, while Norwich dropped to 5-16 on the season and 3-11 in GNAC play.
Emmanuel's sophomore forward Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.) netted a jumper just nine seconds into the contest to go up 2-0 and the Saints never relinquished the lead. After consecutive three-pointers from Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y.) and Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.), the Saints were up 13 (23-10) with twelve minutes to play in the first half.
With 8:30 on the clock and Emmanuel leading 29-18, the Saints went on a 12-5 run to end the half. Emmanuel was led by Williams-Hinton, who scored 14 first-half points. The senior guard went 5 for 6 on first-half field goal attempts, including hitting two of three from behind the arc in the opening stanza.
Both teams shot poorly from the free throw line in the first half. Norwich went 5 for14 on freebies, while Emmanuel connected on just 4 of 11 from the charity stripe. The Saints made of for their 36.4% free throw shooting in the first half, by hitting 17 of 30 shots from the field (56.7%). Emmanuel's pressure defense forced the Cadets to shoot just 28.6% (8-28) from the floor and the Saints took a 41-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After the break, the Saints used an 11-4 run to quickly extend their lead to 25 points at 14:22. Emmanuel then maintained a solid 20-plus point lead throughout the second frame and the Saints came away with the 22-point win. Dismal free throw shooting continued to plague both teams in the second half. The Cadets finished out the game shooting 46.4% (13-28) from the line, while the Saints shot a weak 50% (15-30) from the stripe.
Emmanuel moved the ball well throughout the night, as the Saints recorded 23 assists on their 28 made field goals. Emmanuel scored 24 points off their fast break and forced 20 Norwich turnovers. The Cadets owned a slight rebounding advantage over the Saints, 51-48.
Williams-Hinton finished with 17 points to lead all scorers, tacking on his third three-ball of the game in the second half. Freshman guard Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) came off the bench to contribute 16 points on 6 for 8 shooting. Freshman forward Eric Spanbauer (Niagra Falls, N.Y.) chipped in with 7 points and a team-high 9 rebounds in the win.
Norwich had just one player scoring in double-figures. Freshman guard Joshua Cabrera (Providence, R.I.) notched 11 points for the Cadets. Senior center Mike Filipek (Jericho, Vt.) added 8 points and a team-high 9 rebounds in the effort for Norwich.
The Saints are back in action on Saturday afternoon (2/14), when they travel to (Nashua, N.H.) to take on the Raiders of Rivier College in a 1pm tip. Norwich will play again on Thursday (2/12), when the Cadets host the Mustangs of Mount Ida College in a 7pm start.