GAME ONE- No. 6 Emerson at No. 3 Wheaton 

The sixth-seeded Emerson College men’s basketball team received double-digit scoring efforts from six players, including 18 from sophomore guard Brendan McNamara, in an 88-75 upset victory over host number three seed Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening in the opening round of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. 

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.

McNamara added eight rebounds, five assists and a steal for the Lions, while first year forward Guillermo Gasset Ruiz 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 netted 15 points, dished out four assists, pulled down three rebounds and came up with a pair of steals, while sophomore guard Jacob Armant came off the bench to contribute with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes of play.

Sophomore forward Eoin Morrissey 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 dropped in 17 points, including four three-pointers and added three rebounds, a block and a career-high six assists. Junior forward Khaled Thaher chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal, while first year guard Dimetri Iafrate 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. 

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. 

Wheaton ends their season at 15-10.

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.

GAME TWO - No. 5 Coast Guard at No. 4 Babson

Graduate student Steph Baxter led three players in double figures with 23 points and fourth-seeded Babson College built a 21-point halftime lead on the way to defeating the fifth-seeded Coast Guard Academy, 87-76, in a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its fifth win in the last seven games, Babson improves to 13-13 overall and advances to the conference semifinals for the fourth year in a row. Coast Guard sees its season come to a close at 15-11. 

Junior Nate Amado, who was playing in his first game since January 20, finished with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, while classmate David Cross contributed a career-high 18 points to go along with five boards and three dimes to lead the Beavers. 

Sophomore Mitch Shettles poured in 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting to pace the Bears. Junior Declan Rooney added 14 points and four assists in the loss. 

Shettles, who made his first four shots, knocked down a triple to tie the game at 11 before the Green and White seized command with an 11-0 run. Sophomore Mark Woolhouse canned a pair of three-pointers, Baxter scored on a hard drive to the hoop and Cross canned another trifecta to make it 22-11 at the 10:53 mark. 

The lead was 12 just under four minutes later when Baxter followed up a triple by junior Aidan Horan with consecutive three-pointers as part of an 11-2 burst to give the Beavers their largest lead of the game with 5:26 to go until halftime. Shettles and first-year Jordan Frazer scored all the points during a 12-4 run to close the stanza and sophomore Luke Farrell buried a jumper on the opening possession of the second half to pull Coast Guard within 48-38. 

Babson pushed its advantage back to 17 twice over the first four minutes of the second period and maintained a double-digit advantage until Farrell knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the Bears' deficit to 68-60 with 8:10 remaining. Hoops by sophomore Timmy O'Toole and Amado helped Babson regain a 12-point edge and sparked a 13-5 spurt that helped put the game away. 

Amado responded to a three-point play by Rooney with five straight points to make it 77-63 with 5:10 to go and Baxter canned 1-of-2 free throws after a three-point play by O'Toole to give the Green and White an 81-65 advantage with 3:10 left. 

The Beavers shot 58.6 percent in the first half and 46.9 percent for the game from the field in addition to going 13-of-29 (44.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Green and White also turned 17 Coast Guard turnovers into 20 points. 

The Bears shot 48.2 percent from the field and finished with a slim 34-33 edge on the glass. 

Babson travels to top-seeded WPI for a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal on Thursday at 7 p.m. 

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.