BOSTON – Emmanuel Men's Basketball (8-10, 4-3 GNAC) held on late to defeat the Regis College Pride (8-10, 3-4 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night inside the Jean Yawkey Center. A made three-pointer from Regis waved off at the buzzer allowed the Saints to hang-on to their 67-66 lead to secure a thrilling victory.
Both sides battled back and forth throughout the first half with neither team being able to pull away. After falling behind 5-0 in the early moments of the game, Emmanuel went on a 9-0 run to take the lead. Regis responded with a 9-0 run of their own midway through the half, building an 18-13 advantage.
Despite shooting more than 10% better than their opponents, the Saints shot just 2/12 from beyond the arc. The Pride struggled from the floor as well, shooting just 31.7%, but five three pointers helped the visitors hold a three-point advantage at the break. Cameron Snowden's (Franklin Park, N.J.) 10 first half points kept Emmanuel within striking distance at 29-26 as the buzzer sounded.
Just under five minutes into the second half, the Pride had extended their lead to 11 points after a Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) made jump-shot. The Saints would continue to battle and with six minutes left to play, a Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) layup leveled the score at 50 apiece.
Emmanuel continued their run and found themselves with the ball and a four-point lead with 44 seconds remaining. Pride Head Coach Nate Hager called a timeout and crafted a play that ended with a huge three-pointer from Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) to cut the Saints lead to just a point.
A Saints turnover gave the ball back to Regis with 11 seconds remaining. Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) found himself in a position underneath the hoop but a huge block by Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) with just a second left kept the ball out of the basket. The blocked shot flew into the hands of Evelyn, who drilled an off-balance three as time expired. The shot was initially called a good basket but after a discussion between officials it was determined that Evelyn did not release the ball before the buzzer. The shot was waved off as the Saints hung on for a 67-66 victory.
Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass). led the pride with an 18-point performance. Rau contributed 16 points to go along with his 11 rebounds. Grijalva led all scorers with 21 points for the Saints. Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) finished with 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Up next, Regis will pay a visit to Lasell University in a GNAC matchup this Saturday (1/27) at 3:00 P.M. Emmanuel will make a trip this Saturday (1/27) for a GNAC contest with Dean College at 3:00 P.M.