Tonight Emerson lost to WPI in an overtime thriller, final score 81-73. It was a tough loss for the Lions; who played hard all night long, matching a larger and very physical WPI team blow for blow. The whole team made a concerted effort to box out and secure each rebound, cutting down on the WPI garbage points and letting Emerson score off the break. With usual starter Michael Thorpe out tonight, the Lions needed someone to take over his scoring and playmaking duties. And Mike Carbone delivered big on that front, by nailing 3 - three-pointers in the first half alone, helping Emerson to a 40-34 lead at the end of the first half.

However, WPI stormed out of halftime to the tune of a 10-0 run. After a timeout, Emerson managed to dig back into the game but the momentum had already begun to shift toward WPI. The Lions couldn't catch a break in the second half, starting with Eli Kell-Abrams drawing his fourth foul early on in the half. Without either of their starting guards, Emerson had to go a fair amount deeper into their rotation than normal. This, plus the team's 12 fouls to WPI's 7, kept the game close, despite Emerson's continuing hot hand from the deep.

Regulation ended with the score tied 69-69. Unfortunately, in overtime WPI came out strong and outscored Emerson 12-4.

In addition to Carbone's three-point barrage (4 total), Ryan Clinesmith had an excellent game. He scored 19 points, to go along with 7 rebounds and a steal. Other impressive performances include Brian Hurley, Austin Pinckney, Tyson Hallowell, Mike Corcoran, and Jacob Forchheimer.

The Lion's play next on February 7th at Clark University, game set for 3:00pm.