EMMANUEL EDGES JWU IN GNAC QUARTERFINAL, 90-86
Feb. 24, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - The Saints of Emmanuel College survived a scare from the visiting Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball tournament action played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night. The fourth-seeded Saints edged the fifth-seeded Wildcats, 90-86, in one of four GNAC quarterfinal match-ups. Emmanuel improved to 16-10 on the season and will play at top-seeded Lasell College on Thursday night (2/26) in the GNAC semifinals. Johnson & Wales wrapped up the 08-09 season with a 10-16 mark.
Both teams played evenly for the opening four minutes of the contest. With the score tied at 10-10, Emmanuel went on a 13-4 run that spanned five minutes and put the Saints up, 23-14 with 11:13 on the clock. Emmanuel got two three-pointers from Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, Mich.) and two jumpers from Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.) during the stretch. The Saints held on to a solid ten-point lead for much of the first half and managed to stretch the margin to 14 points, taking a 47-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Williams-Hinton led all scorers with his 13 first-half points, while junior guard Mike Jackson (New York, N.Y.) dished out 7 assists in the opening stanza. The Saints shot 55.9% (19-34) in the opening half, to help overcome the Wildcats' 27-22 advantage on the boards. Emmanuel's 12 first-half fouls kept it close for JWU, sending the Wildcats to the line 16 times in the first period.
After the break, Emmanuel extended its lead to as many as 18 points, 65-47, with 11:49 to play, after another tri-fecta from Williams-Hinton. With less than ten minutes to play, Johnson & Wales' junior guard Darren Faust (Queens, N.Y.) began to take over. Faust ignited a 15-5 Wildcat run, which brought JWU to within 8 points, 70-62. Over the stretch, Faust scored 10 of the team's 15 points.
With the 44 seconds to play and the Saints up by eight, 86-78, Faust sandwiched two three-pointers around two Emmanuel free throws by Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) to bring the score to 88-84 with 18 ticks on the clock. After two missed free throws by the Saints and two makes on the opposite end by Marcus Crenshaw (Baltimore, Md.), Emmanuel led by just two, 88-86. A JWU foul and two clutch freebies by Williams-Hinton sealed the win for the Saints, 90-86.
Williams-Hinton led a quartet of Emmanuel players scoring in double figures. The senior guard scored 20 points, hitting 5 of 8 from the field, 4 of 7 from three-point range, and 6 for 7 from the line. Duke added 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Buchanan netted 15 points and hauled in a team-high 9 boards. Jackson chipped in with 15 points and 7 assists in the win.
The Saints continued to get out-rebounded in the second half and JWU finished the game with a 53-42 edge on the boards. The Wildcats scored 25 second-chance points. Both teams committed 23 turnovers on the night.
Faust led all scorers with 33 points, hitting 10 of 22 from the field and 9 of 12 from the line. Rookie guards Tavarius Roberson (Orlando, Fla.) and Calvin Jones (Providence, R.I.) totaled 18 and 11 points, respectively. Crenshaw recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds in the effort.
In other quarterfinal action, \#7 Albertus Magnus upset \#2 Emerson, 78-50, \#3 Saint Joseph's (Maine) downed \#6 Rivier, 85-67, and \#1 Lasell topped \#8 Norwich, 67-59.
Emmanuel will play at Lasell College in Auburndale, Mass. on Thursday night (2/26) at 7pm. Saint Joseph's (Maine) will host Albertus Magnus. The two semifinal winners will play for the GNAC Championship on Saturday (2/28) at the home site of the highest surviving seed. The winner of the GNAC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.