The Emmanuel College men's basketball team fought a tough contest with Emerson College on Saturday afternoon, but fell to the Lions, 69-66 at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. The loss puts the Saints at 4-8 for the season while the Lions improve to 6-6.

Although the Saints were missing both of their team captains, seniors Tyrone Buchanan (Detroit, Mich.) and Tony Carter-Hill (Baltimore, Md.), the young Emmanuel squad came out of the opening tip strong and grabbed the first points on a layup by junior Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.). Junior Andre Fuller (Troy, N.Y.) added two more points for the Saints with a one-handed dunk to give Emmanuel a 4-0 edge.

Emerson grabbed three points following Emanuel's run and senior Tom Messinger (Florence, Mass.) drained a three to tie the game at six. Junior Alex Dempsey (Anchorage, Ak.) added a second trey for the Lions moments later and Messinger hit another three right after to make it 12-6 for Emerson.

Freshman Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down a three-pointer for the Saints on the next possession and sophomore Connor Morgan (Chepachet, R.I.) added a foul shot for the hosts soon after. The Lions continued to make buckets when they got the chance, adding layups and foul shots to make it 18-10 at 12:32 of the frame.

Senior Kabir Moss (Chico, Calif.) added two more for the Lions with a wide open lane and reverse layup under the basket to give Emerson a 12-point edge with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Junior Carlos Negrete (Orange County, Calif.) hit a three-pointer for the Lions from the left corner to make the score 25-12 for the visitors.

Emmanuel freshman D.J. Fazio (Methuen, Mass.) gave the Saints some life with a long three-pointer and junior Nate Jackson (Middleboro, Mass.) grabbed a rebound and put back a strong layup for the hosts. Fazio found his groove moments later and hit a deep jumper from just inside the arc to make it a 10-point game. Sophomore Michael Mailhot (Norwich, Conn.) showed his skills on both sides of the ball with a shifty steal and followed that with a converted layup while being fouled at the other end.

Neither team was able to convert a basket for a few minutes, with both squads going back and forth on offense and defense, unable to knock one down. Fazio added his second three-pointer of the half with just under two minutes remaining on the clock to bring the game to within two points. Moss added two-and-one for the Lions (their first points in almost 7:30 following a 14-0 run by the Saints) and Emmanuel sophomore Armani Gill (Boston, Mass.) hit a jumper to finish the half with the score 32-31 in favor of the visitors.

Fazio and Messinger led all scorers with 10 points in the half as the Saints outrebounded the Lions 19-15. Emmanuel led the points off turnovers battle with a 10-7 edge, but Emerson shot 10-21 from the floor while the Saints were 10-31.

Duke helped the Saints take the lead in the second half with two foul shots in the opening minute of the frame. Two quick baskets by the Lions helped the visitors retake the lead but two made foul shots by Jackson helped the Emmanuel find its footing.

Negrete hit a three-pointer off a feed from the right side of the arc to give Emerson a slight boost and grabbed another from the left side of the arc to make it a 43-25 game, in favor of the Lions. Morgan knocked down a three from the left corner for the Saints but Negrete added his third trey of the half moments later for Emerson.

Sophomore Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) made an excellent play off of missed free-throws to knock in a bouncing ball for two more for the Saints and Mailhot drained two more foul shots to cut the deficit to just two. The Lions kept the pressure on Emmanuel with made layups and free-throws to set the score at 54-50 with 8:34 left in the game.

Emerson extended its lead to five with a 57-52 score with six minutes left in the game. The game remained as such for another minute and a half when the teams traded foul shots and the Lions lead was cut to four. It would not be for long, as Emerson would put together a string of steals and buckets to make the score 64-55.

 The Saints cut the Lions' lead to three with two free-throws made by Jones and a layup by Jackson made the score 68-63 with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Emerson would hold on to win, 69-66.

Negrete led all scorers with 19 points while Duke and Fazio netted 13 each for Emmanuel. Duke also recorded 13 rebounds to notch a double-double for the game. The Saints outrebounded the Lions 47-28 on the game and recorded 15 second chance points compared to Emerson's three.

The Saints will return to the court next Tuesday night to host Lasell College at 7:00 p.m.