2007-08 Men's Basketball Season in Review

May 15, 2008

The Emmanuel Men's Basketball Team capped off another successful season with the program's second appearance in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) tournament. This was the Saints' sixth-straight year of post-season play. The squad wrapped up regular season conference play with a record of 14-4 and earned a \#3 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament. Emmanuel rolled past 6th-seeded Rivier College in the tournament's quarterfinals (81-56) and traveled to Lasell College to take on the 2nd-seeded Lasers in the GNAC semifinals. The Saints hung tough throughout the game, but the Lasers came away with a 9-point victory (70-61). With an overall record of 17-10, Emmanuel was ranked 2nd in the ECAC tournament and hosted 7th-seeded Western Connecticut State University. The Colonials' long-range shooting propelled them past the Saints as they took home a 99-61 upset win.

Emmanuel had three starters score their 1000th career points during the 2007-2008 season, with two hitting the milestone in the same game. Junior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, MI) and senior forward Levi Smith (Tulsa, OK) hit 1,000 points in the Saints' January 17th double-overtime win at Salem State College. Junior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) eclipsed the mark just four days later in a win over Saint Joseph's College.

Williams-Hinton led Emmanuel in scoring throughout the season, averaging 18.3 points per game, while shooting 46.5% from the floor. He knocked down 58 of 148 three-pointers and shot 76.3% from the line. Williams-Hinton was also second on the team in steals and rebounds per game. After just three seasons of play, he is currently the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,295 career points. This season, he set the program record for points in a single season (512) and field goals made in a single season (190). A 1st Team All-Conference selection, Williams-Hinton was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll twice and the GNAC Player of the Week once this season.

Spellman was Emmanuel's second leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points and leading the team on the boards with 8.7 rebounds per game. Spellman notched ten double-doubles this season and set the Emmanuel program records for rebounds in a career (651) and rebounds in a single season (244). He was also named to the Emmanuel College Tip-Off All-Tournament Team, to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll, the GNAC Player of the Week on February 18th, and GNAC 2nd Team All-Conference.

Smith was the Saints' lone senior this season. He was ranked 3rd on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game, while pulling down 123 boards per outing. Smith owns the program record and the GNAC record for blocked shots in career with 195. He is the GNAC leader for blocked shots in a career (regular season conference games) with 124 (1.85 per game) and 2nd in GNAC for blocked shots in a career (all tournament games) with 14 (1.56 per game). Smith led the Saints in their playoff run and was subsequently named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team. He has been a four-year player and four-year starter for the Saints, having started in 105 of 108 games during his career. Smith will leave Emmanuel as the program's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,194 career points.

Emmanuel's junior captain Andres Bustamante (Amherst, MA) will return for his senior season with the Saints. Bustamante dished out 65 assists and averaged 4.5 points and 4.9 points a night, while starting in 23 of 28 games. Rookie point guard J.P. Ventura (Riva, MD) played big minutes for Emmanuel this season. He led the team in assist to turnover ratio, dishing out a team-high 78 assists to just 43 turnovers. Ventura was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on February 11th this season.

Freshman forward Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, MI) came off the bench and provided 15 solid minutes per game. Buchanan shot 44% from the field and was the team's fourth leading scorer with 6.2 points per game. Sophomore Mike Jackson (New York, NY) gave Ventura a break at the point guard slot and dished out 60 assists, while averaging 5.5 points per outing.

Head Coach Jamahl Jackson will return for his 5th season next year. Losing just Smith to graduation, Coach Jackson will return 14 veterans and 4 starters to the 2008-2009 team.