The Emerson Men's Basketball team played their home opener Friday, Nov 20th, against the Tufts University Jumbos. The Lions were coming off an impressive showing against Division I school Bryant University and were looking to maintain momentum off that impressive performance. The Jumbos defeated the Lions with a final score of 86-83. With the loss, Emerson falls to 1-3, while Tufts moves to 1-0 on the season.

Emerson started off strong and took an early lead before Tufts fired back to retake the lead before halftime. The Jumbos were led by Tom Palleschi, who had 9 points by halftime. The Jumbos did much of their damage at the line, going 11 for 12 in the first half.

In the second half, Emerson rallied back thanks to sharpshooting by Michael Thorpe, who had 18 points and scored his 1000th point in his Emerson career. The Jumbos however, were able to repel  Emerson's comeback attempt with 19 more trips to the free-throw line.

Stat leaders for the Jumbos include Ryan Spadaford with 20 total points and 10 rebounds, followed closely by Palleschi with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

Leading for the Lions was Thorpe with 18 points, followed closely by Tyson Hallowell with 14 points. Austin Pinckney lead in rebounds with 12.

The Jumbos host Wentworth tomorrow for their home opener at 2:00pm. The Lions return to action on Monday, Nov 24th, when they travel to Lesley for an 8:00pm tipoff.

Recap by Seong Pak