NORTON, Mass. – The sixth-seeded Emerson College men's basketball team received double-digit scoring efforts from six players, including 18 from sophomore guard Brendan McNamara (Arlington, Mass.), in an 88-75 upset victory over host number three seed Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening in the opening round of the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Championship Tournament at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lions improve to 11-15 on the season and advance to the NEWMAC Semifinals for the third straight year to face second-seeded Clark University on Thursday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
The Lyons end their season at 15-10.
Emerson knocked down 11 three-pointers to give it double-digit trifectas for the 10th time this season and did so at an efficient rate of 55%. The Lions shot 47.7% (31-65) from the field for the game, including 55.6% (15-27) in the second half. Wheaton shot a respectable 41.3% (26-63) after struggling through a first half that saw it make just 34.5% (10-29) of its field goal attempts. Emerson controlled the boards with a 40-33 advantage and both teams were active on the offensive glass with the visitors pulling down 15 offensive boards and the Lyons coming up with 13. The teams combined to turn the ball over just 13 times, including five by Emerson.
Sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) led Wheaton with a career and game-high 19 points on 8-15 from the floor to go with four rebounds and sophomore guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) dropped in 17 points, including four three-pointers and added three rebounds, a block and a career-high six assists. Junior forward Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal, while first year guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) also had a bid for a triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists to go with a steal and a blocked shot. It was the final game for senior guard Jaden Keliher (Amesbury, Mass.), who was hampered by an injury, just still managed to score two points, make a steal and grab three rebounds. Keliher set career-highs in every statistical category in 2023-24 and came up big time and time again in big spots throughout the season for the Lyons. He finished his Wheaton career playing in 58 contests, while scoring 179 points.
McNamara added eight rebounds, five assists and a steal for the Lions, while first year forward Guillermo Gasset Ruiz (Malaga, Spain) flirted with a triple-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in addition to three steals and a blocked shot. Senior guard Trevor Arico (Ann Arbor, Mich.) netted 15 points, dished out four assists, pulled down three rebounds and came up with a pair of steals, while sophomore guard Jacob Armant (Arlington, Texas) came off the bench to contribute with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes of play.
Wheaton held a 19-13 advantage at the 10:19 mark of the first half, following an 11-2 run, paced by four points each from Thaher and Pedevillano. The Lyons looked to have the pace they wanted, holding their guests to just 13 points through the first 10 minutes, but Emerson caught fire with four unanswered three-pointers as part of a 16-0 blitz that gave the Lions a 29-19 advantage with 5:50 to play in the opening stanza.
The near five minute-span of scoreless basketball proved to be costly for Wheaton, which never fully recovered. McNamara buried a three-ball later in the half to give Emerson its largest lead of the session at 38-26 with 2:34 showing. The Lions took a 40-30 cushion into the intermission.
Emerson picked up where it left off, draining back-to-back trifectas from McNamara and Gasset Ruiz to open the second stanza and give the visitors a 46-30 lead with just 84 seconds gone in the new half. The Lyons were unable to significantly cut into the margin and Gardiner converted a layup with 9:08 remaining in the game to give the Lions their biggest lead of the night at 70-48.
Emerson looked to have the game well in hand, but Wheaton would not lie down, scoring 18 of the next 19 points in a span of just 4:20 to pull the Lyons to within 71-66 with 4:48 to play in the contest. The home team canned four three-pointers, including two from Iafrate, during the improbable run.
Thaher linked a pair of good free throws together to keep Wheaton within 77-70 with 2:21 left in the game, but it was as close as the Lyons would get the rest of the way. Wheaton looked determined to make the Lions earn their points from the free throw line and Emerson responded by sinking eight straight to increase its lead to 85-72 with 40 ticks left on the second half clock to effectively put the game away.
Wheaton opened the affair with five straight points, including one of three treys from Morrissey in the game. The Lions came alive with an 11-3 stretch, paced by six points from Brenner and four from Arico, to take an 11-8 margin with 14:05 to go in the first half, before the Lyons took a six point lead midway through the session.
