The Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team pulled off its second-consecutive win on Tuesday night in the Jean Yawkey Center, with an 85-75 victory over cross-town rival Suffolk University. The Saints' win in their final home game of the season boosted Emmanuel to 6-18 overall and 4-13 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. Suffolk dropped to 9-14 on the season and 6-10 in the league with the loss.

Emmanuel put together a fifty-point second half en route to the victory and the Saints remain in the hunt for the final GNAC Tournament play-off spot. The win tonight completed the 2014 sweep of Suffolk, as the Saints battled to a 94-88 victory on the Rams' home court back on January 25th.

The two teams kept it tight in the early going with Suffolk taking a 9-8 lead after a baby hook in the post by Matt Duquette (Swampscott, Mass.).  Emmanuel senior guard Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.) quickly swung the lead back to the Saints after a bucket in the paint at the opposite end.  The lead switched sides four times in the opening five minutes.

Suffolk's Caleb Unni (Winchester, Mass) then sparked an 11-2 run by the Rams.
The sophomore guard buried his fourth three-pointer of the night to put the visitors up 18-10, forcing an Emmanuel timeout with 14:09 showing on the clock.

Out of the timeout, the Saints put together an 8-0 run of their own over the next three minutes, capped with a baseline three-ball from Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.), which forced a Suffolk timeout with the game knotted at 18-all and 11:02 left in the half.

The Rams built a 30-23 lead, backed by Unni, who had netted 16 of the Ram's thirty points nearing the five-minute mark.  Following a timeout by Emmanuel, Sam Nwadike (Houston, Texas) buried a three from the right wing to give the Rams their first double-figure lead of the night at 33-23.  After a brief surge by the Saints, Unni dialed in again for his fifth trey of the half, pushing the spread to 38-26 at the two-minute mark.

The next two minutes would see the momentum swing back to the hosts.  GNAC Rookie of the Week James Sullivan (Wethersfield, Conn.) dropped a pair from the line and Smith hit a jumper in the paint in the waning moments.  Smith then picked a Suffolk player in the backcourt and layed it in at the opposite end to cap a 12-2 run by the Saints and cut the EC deficit to two, 40-38, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Unni led all scorers at the break with his 19 first-half points, hitting 4-5 from behind the arc. Nwadike added 10 for the Rams, who shot 54.2% (13-24) as a team in the first half.

Smith led the Saints in the first half with 13 points off the bench.  Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.) chipped in with 8, as the Saints scored 20 points off of the 16 Suffolk turnovers in the opening frame.

Immediately out of the break, Emmanuel sophomore John Clay (Westport, Mass.) connected on a put-back in the key and tied the game at 40-all.  A jumper by Jones swung the lead over to the Saints at 46-44, forcing a Suffolk timeout at 17:29.

Welles then blocked a shot on the break and pulled up for a three at the opposite end for the Saints, pushing the hosts' lead to 51-47.  Jones pulled up on EC's ensuing position for a 53-47 Emmanuel lead, nearing the fifteen-minute mark.

The Saints' defense held the Rams scoreless for over three minutes, as Emmanuel built its first double-figure lead of the night, up 57-47, with thirteen minutes left.  Clay continued to dominate the glass for Emmanuel, hauling in his ninth rebound and scoring on another put-back, to give the Saints a 59-51 advantage.

Suffolk junior Matt Powers (Westwood, Mass.) hit from long range and then scored off a spin move in the post to cut the Rams' deficit to 61-56.  However, the Suffolk run was short-lived, as Sullivan stuck a three and Smith scored on a pull-up to push EC back out in front by ten at 66-56 with less than ten minutes to play.

Emmanuel would hold on to its double-figure lead throughout, pushing the spread to as many as 16 points with 5:56 remaining.  Free throw shooting and turnover differential proved to be key in the game, as the Saints knocked down 22 of 25 (88%) from the stripe, while the Rams hit just 18 of 28 (64.3%).  Suffolk committed 24 turnovers versus just 13 by Emmanuel.  The Saints would score 31 points off of the Suffolk miscues.

Clay finished with a double-double for the Saints, with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with his 4 steals.  He was one of five double-figure scorers for the blue and gold.  Smith led the way with 19 points (8-15 FG) and 3 steals in just 16 minutes of action.  Jones finished with 16, while Sullivan and Welles chipped in with 13 and 11, respectively.  Freshman forward Lyndon Harewood (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also provided key minutes for the Saints, scoring 8 points and grabbing 8 boards.

Nwadike and Unni combined for 47 points to lead the Rams, as Nwadike netted a game-high 24 and Unni hit for 23, to go along with his 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

The Saints will travel to New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday for a 3:00 PM match up with the GNAC's top team, Albertus Magnus.  This is the final game of the regular season for both the Saints and the Falcons.  Suffolk is back in action on Thursday, when the Rams host Lasell College at 7:30 PM.

(Story courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information)