Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Emerson 99, Newbury 83
Records: Emerson Lions (1-0) ; Newbury Nighthawks (0-2)
Location: Brookline, Mass. (Pappas Gymnasium @ Hellenic College)
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2017
The Lead: Junior Geoffrey Gray (Newton, Mass.) canned 29 points, 10 boards and 10 assist to complete a triple-double and senior Michael Sheng (Altadena, Calif.) contributed 22 points of his own to propel the Emerson men's basketball team past the Newbury Nighthawks in a 99-83 comeback win in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon to start off their 2017-18 campaign.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Gray went 9-for-15 on the floor and 8-for-10 on the charity stripe with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assist to go along with a pair of steals.
- Sheng tallied 22 of Emerson 99 points and went 7-for-14 from the field with five boards, three assists as well as one steal and one block.
- Two more Lions reached double figures in points, including sophomore Jack O'Connor (Newport, R.I.) with 18 off the bench and senior John Geary (Duxbury, Mass.) with nine of his 11 points coming from beyond the arc.
- Daivon Edwards tallied 23 points for the Nighthawks, while Jeduan Langston registered 22 points, five rebounds and finished 7-for-12 from the floor.
- Emerson finished 52.5% from the hardwood on 32-of-61 shooting, while Newbury made 27-of-68 of its shots (39.7%).
- The Lions came away with the 43-33 advantage on the glass and had 26 assists to the Nighthawks 16.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Through the first 20 minutes of play, Newbury entered the second half with a 42-39 lead over Emerson.
- Emerson managed to hold onto a four-point advantage several times within the middle of the first half before Langston sank a pair of free throws to give Newbury the 30-29 edge at 5:35.
- After losing their lead, the Lions kept within striking distance of the Nighthawks and saw Sheng tack on the last seven Lions points of the half to pull them within three.
- Newbury bumped the score up to 54-46 to give them a lead of eight during the first four minutes of the second half and continued to hold Emerson to a differential of five points.
- Gray drained a triple at 8:27 to pull Emerson within a pair at 75-73 followed by Sheng putting up the equalizing layup at 75-all, kickstarting the Lions comeback.
- Now holding the 76-75 lead after a successful shot from Sheng at the free throw line, Emerson surged for the next seven points to push the score to 83-75 with 5:40 left to play.
- Emerson stretched its lead into double figures at 87-77 on a trey by Gray as the Lions never allowed the Nighthawks to more than 17, going on a 12-6 run through the final four minutes to close out the 99-83 win.
UP NEXT
- Emerson opens up its home schedule on Tuesday, November 21 and will host Suffolk in a non-conference contest slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
- Newbury takes a week break and returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, November 28 at Rivier at 7:00 p.m.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
