Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Springfield 77, Emerson 60
Records: Emerson Lions (4-14, 0-7 NEWMAC); Springfield Pride (9-9, 3-4 NEWMAC)
Location: Springfield, Mass. (Blake Arena)
Date: January 25, 2017
The Lead: The Emerson men's basketball team headed off to Springfield for a NEWMAC matchup, but could not edge out the Pride as the Lions fell 77-60 despite a career-high 35-point performance from sophomore Geoffrey Gray (Newton, Mass.).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Gray paced the Lions and all scorers with 35 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal and finished 11-for-17 from the floor.
- Junior Michael Sheng (Altadena, Calif.) followed Gray with eight points and freshman Alex Mrusek (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) matched Gray with five rebounds as well.
- Trey Witter netted 21 points off the bench for Springfield and made 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc, while Heath Post hauled a game-high nine boards and Andy McNulty had seven assists.
- Emerson shot 37.7% (20-of-53) from the floor, made 17-of-19 from the charity stripe and beat Springfield in the paint (24-22).
- Springfield went 26-of-59 from the field, were 10-of-23 (43.5%) from behind the arc and made 15-of-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Springfield's Jake Ross nailed a three that gave the Pride an early 9-4 lead only to have Emerson answer with an 8-3 run to square the game 12-all after Gray canned a jumper with 11:40 left in the first half.
- The hosts embarked on an 8-0 streak that was kickstarted by a three from McNulty to put the Pride up 20-12.
- Emerson closed the gap to within three at 20-17 before Springfield went up seven with 3:28 on the clock.
- After a three-point bucket from junior John Geary (Duxbury, Mass.), the Lions climbed back within four, but the Pride pieced together an 8-1 push to close the half out with the 32-21 advantage.
- Springfield extended its lead to 35-21 to open the second half and at the 14:07 mark upped its lead to 47-31.
- The Lions found themselves down 20 after a three by Ross with 9:00 left in regulation.
- Emerson finished out the game coming no closer than 16 to Springfield as the Pride gained its biggest lead of 77-50.
- A pair of shots from the charity stripe from Sheng got the Lions within 17, but would not be enough as the Lions were handed the 77-60 loss.
UP NEXT
- Emerson continues road action on Saturday, January 28 as the Lions head off to Babson at 3:00 p.m.
- Springfield closes out January action on Saturday, January 28 in a 12:00 p.m. NEWMAC home tilt against rival, Clark.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
