MEN'S HOOP WRAPS REGULAR SEASON WITH WIN AT SUFFOLK
Feb. 21, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - Emmanuel's Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) led all scorers with 20 points on 7-14 shooting, to lead the Saints to an 82-75 win at Suffolk University in the Regan Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Saints wrapped up their regular season at 15-10 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Emmanuel has received the fourth seed in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament. The Saints will host the 5th-seeded Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday night (2/24) at 8pm.
Suffolk's freshman Mike Gibbons' (Ringwood, NJ) scored 18 points and sophomore Mike Fleming's (Exeter, NH) added 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the Rams completed their 2008-09 campaign at 3-22 overall and 2-16 in the GNAC. Gibbons shot 7-16 and attempted 13 three-pointers, making four of them, to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Fleming was an impressive 6-10 from the field and added five rebounds and four assists.
After leading by three points at the break, 32-29, Emmanuel took its largest lead of the game in the second half after two free-throws from Andre Fuller (Albany, N.Y.). The freebies put the Saints ahead, 67-47 with 4:36 remaining. Fuller finished the game with four points.
Suffolk managed to battle back in the waning minutes, making it an 80-75 game thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from senior Kevin Blake (Milford, Conn.). Blake finished his Suffolk career with a perfect 3-3 shooting performance and eight points.
Emmanuel's J.P. Ventura (Riva, Md.) made it an 81-75 game with one of his three points on the afternoon with 25 seconds left in the contest. The Rams' Allan Ray (Lynn, Mass.) had a good look at a three-pointer to draw closer on the Rams' next possession, but he was unable to add to his nine-point afternoon, as the Rams fell to their cross-town rival for the second time this season.
The Saints out-rebounded the Rams, 50-43. Emmanuel shot just (57.5%) from the free throw line, hitting 23-40 of their shots from the line. The Saints' defense forced 17 Suffolk turnovers and Emmanuel scored 21 points off the Suffolk errors.
Along with his game-high 20 points, Williams-Hinton finished with six rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Chris Puzacke (Torrington, Conn.) knocked down 5 of his 7 looks for 11 points, while grabbing 8 boards. Junior point guard Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y) added 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Forwards Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.) and Andres Bustamante (Amherst, Mass.) gathered 7 rebounds apiece in the win.
Emmanuel will be back in action on Tuesday night in the GNAC Quarterfinals. The winner of Tuesday night's contest will play the winner of top-seeded Lasell College vs. 8th-seeded Norwich University in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday night (2/26). Highest seeds host throughout the tournament.