Junior forward Colin Halpin (Melrose, Mass) connected on a three from well behind the arc as time expired to lift Suffolk University past the Emmanuel College men's basketball team, 77-74, Tuesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. With the win, the Rams improve to 5-6 overall and 2-3 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action while the loss drops the Saints to 4-8 and 3-2.

A layup by EC senior forward Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y) with 6.4 seconds remaining tied the score at 74-74 to set the tone for Halpin. After the ensuing inbound, Suffolk senior guard Justin Barall (East Hampton, Conn.) immediately carried the ball into the Rams offensive zone, finding a streaking Halpin on the right-side wing. The junior didn't think twice about firing up the game-winner and hit nothing but net as regulation came to an end.

It was just that kind of night for EC as they didn't even hold a lead in the game until the 19:00 minute mark of the second half after junior guard Michael Mailhot (Norwich, Conn.) found junior forward Connor Morgan (Chepachet, R.I.) on the fast break for a layup to put the Saints ahead 43-42. The lead was short lived as Suffolk would go on a quick 6-0 run to pull ahead 48-43 with 17:35 remaining.

Over the next seven minutes of action, both teams continued to trade baskets and a layup by junior guard Chris Torres (Brockton, Mass.) made it 61-56 in favor of the visitors with 10:11 left to play in regulation. Emmanuel took a timeout after the hoop to regroup but following the timeout, a bizarre malfunction with the gymnasium horn forced the game to be delayed for 12 minutes before play resumed. The break appeared to reenergize the Saints as they were able to chip away at the Rams lead and a layup by Duke with 3:50 left pulled Emmanuel to within a hoop at 70-68.

On the next offensive possession, Duke was able to draw a foul and earn a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 3:25 to play. The senior connected on both free throws to tie the game at 70-70 with 3:26 left on the clock.

A pair of free throws by Halpin broke the tie giving the Rams a 72-70 advantage with 2:30 remaining but a layup by junior forward Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y) would tie even the score again at 72-72 with just 1:29 in the contest.

Halpin put Suffolk back on top at 74-72 with a jumper at the 1:15 mark but the Saints were able to tie it once again with just 6.4 seconds remaining on a baseline jumper from Duke before Halpin's late game heroics sealed the 77-74 win for the Rams.

The Rams came out of the gate playing at an up-tempo pace and raced ahead to a 12-2 lead just 3:52 into the contest, fueled by eight points from Torres but the Saints would respond with a 9-0 run capped by a layup by Duke to make it a one point game (12-11) with 11:56 remaining in the opening stanza.

A three pointer from the near corner by freshman forward Matt Powers (Westwood, Mass.) followed by a pair of free throws by the first-year gave Suffolk its largest lead of the half at 26-16 with just under eight minutes remaining in the frame.

Trailing 30-20 with 6:00 minutes to play, the Saints would finish the first half strong by pouring in 19 points over the home stretch to cut the deficit to one point at 40-39 heading into the intermission. Everson would cap the half's scoring with a high-energy dunk with 0:25 seconds remaining.

Halpin finished the game with 21 points and six rebounds while Torres also added 21 points in the win. Junior forward Matt Pepdjonovic (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards while Powers finished with 11 points off the bench.

For the Saints, Duke finished the evening with a game-high 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds for a double-double while Everson added 21 points in the loss. Sophomore forward Theo Robinson (Springfield, Mass.) also had a double-double, scoring 10 while grabbing 10 boards.

The Saints will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they head to Providence, R.I. for a 1:00 PM GNAC matchup vs. Johnson & Wales University while the Rams head to Northfield, V.T. on Thursday evening for a 7:00 PM GNAC contest vs. Norwich University.

(Story courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information.)