SAINTS FALL TO LIONS IN GNAC REMATCH AT EMERSON
Feb. 19, 2008
Boston, Mass. - The Emerson College men's basketball team received clutch free throw shooting from sophomores Bryan Rouse (East Greenwich, R.I.) and Jeremy Shannon (Lowell, Mass.) as the Lions rallied to defeat Emmanuel, 82-79, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference rematch at Piano Row on Tuesday night. Emmanuel had previously defeated Emerson with a buzzer-beater back on January 26th in the Jean Yawkey Center. Tuesday night's victory for Emerson moves the Lions into a tie for first place with Emmanuel in the GNAC.
Rouse was perfect (6 for 6) from the charity stripe in the last 1:45 and also hit a jumper to power the Lions, who had rallied from a 63-53 deficit midway through the second half. Emerson controlled most of the first-half action, twice holding 12-point leads. Emmanuel closed the half on a 17-6 run to pull even at 41 on a lay-up by senior forward Levi Smith (Tulsa, Ok.) in the final seconds.
Rouse opened the second half scoring with a jump shot, but Emmanuel's junior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, N.Y.) nailed a three to give the Saints a 44-43 lead. Emerson's Shannon tied the game with a free throw, but the Saints scored the next 11 points to take a 55-44 lead. The teams traded baskets until a jumper by Smith gave Emmanuel a 63-53 lead with 10:00 on the clock. Freshman Tom Messenger (Florence, Mass.) triggered the Lions' comeback with a three-pointer, and a Shannon free throw cut Emmanuel's lead to six. Emerson's senior guard Will Dawkins (Springfield, Mass.) canned a lay-up to cut the lead to four, but an Emmanuel jumper by sophomore guard Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y.) extended the Saints' advantage to 65-59.
Emerson scored the next six points to tie the game with two free throws each from Rouse and Shannon and a Ben Chase (Newburyport, Mass.) jump shot. The teams traded the lead six times and forged three ties over the next four and a half minutes. Two Rouse free throws with 1:03 left gave Emerson a 77-75 lead that the Lions would not relinquish. Spellman rimmed out a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
Spellman and junior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) shared game-high scoring honors with 22 points each. Smith added 18 points for the Saints. Junior forward Andres Bustamante (Amherst, Mass.) dished out a game-high 7 assists for Emmanuel. Rouse and Shannon led the Lions with 20 points each with Rouse hitting 10 for 10 from the charity stripe. Chase netted 12 and Dawkins chipped in with 13.
With the loss, Emmanuel fell to 16-8 overall and 14-3 in the GNAC, while Emerson improved to 21-3 on the season and 14-3 conference play. Emerson will face Norwich University on Saturday (2/23) at 1pm in the regular season finale. Should the Lions win, they will earn the top seed and home court advantage for the GNAC Tournament, which begins on February 26th. Emmanuel closes its regular season with a 3pm tip at St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine on Saturday afternoon.