Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Emerson 65, Clark 62
Records: Emerson Lions (5-16, 1-9 NEWMAC); Clark Cougars (13-8, 5-5 NEWMAC)
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Kneller Athletic Center)
Date: February 4, 2017
The Lead: With 1.8 seconds left in regulation, junior Michael Sheng (Altadena, Calif.) hit the game-winning three to stun Clark and lift the Emerson men's basketball team to its first NEWMAC win of the season over the Cougars, 65-62, on Saturday afternoon.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Sheng, who finished 7-for-12 from the floor, paced Emerson with a game-best 16 points to match five rebounds and two assists.
- Freshman Alex Mrusek (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.) tallied a team-high six assists and sophomore Geoffrey Gray (Newton, Mass.) put up 10 points, four rebounds, one steal and three assists off the bench.
- Lamar Berk registered his second straight double-double with 16 points and overall game-high 12 boards for the hosts, while John Pisacreta chipped in 14 points and six rebounds and Joe Atkinson tallied seven points, six assists and four rebounds.
- Emerson outscored Clark within the paint (30-8) and turned 14 of Clark's turnovers into 19 points.
- From the floor, Emerson shot 44.8% (26-of-58), converted 50% (8-of-16) of their shots beyond the three-point line and made 55.6% (5-of-9) from the charity stripe.
- Clark was 37.7% (20-of-53) from the field, made 7-of-26 from beyond the arc (26.9%) and were 88.2% on the free throw line (15-of-17).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Emerson converted on just 28% of their shots within the first half and found themselves down by eight of Clark at the conclusion of the half at 28-20.
- Less than seven minutes into the second half, the Lions embarked on a 7-0 run that chipped away Clark's eight-point advantage to square the score 37-all on a triple from junior Corey Fitz (Los Altos, Calif.).
- After its 7-0 streak, Emerson tacked on 10 more points that included five consecutive points from Gray, a three by freshman Kent Ellertson (Sudbury, Mass.) and a trey from freshman Ben Holding (South Dartmouth, Mass.) and gave the Lions its biggest lead of the day at 47-37.
- The Cougars managed to close the gap to within three on a shot beyond the arc from Atkinson to put the score at 54-51, but the Lions increased their lead back to seven.
- Clark battled and evened the score 58-all on a 7-0 push from a pair of trips to the free throw line and a three-pointer from Atkinson.
- The Lions regained the 60-58 lead before the Cougars tied the score once again with 1:44 left to play.
- With 52 ticks on the clock, Sheng netted a game-tying layup after Clark went ahead by two.
- Clark missed the potential game-winning shot, which allowed Emerson to gain the game's final possession.
- Sheng worked his way towards the far left corner and nailed the game-winning three with 1.1 seconds on the clock to lift the Lions to a 65-62 victory.
UP NEXT
- Emerson come back to Boston on Wednesday, February 8 to host Coast Guard in a 5:30 p.m. contest.
- Clark are back in action on Wednesday, February 8 as well when they play host to Wheaton (Mass.) at 7:00 p.m.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
