Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Brandeis 76, Emerson 74
Records: Emerson Lions (2-2) ; Brandeis Judges (2-1)
Location: Waltham, Mass. (Auerbach Arena)
Date: Monday, November 18, 2019
The Lead: 22 points from senior Jack O'Connor (Newport, R.I.) helped the Emerson men's basketball forge a second half comeback, but came up two points short behind a last second layup by Brandeis to set the Lions back, 76-74, on Monday night.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
EMERSON
Points: O'Connor (22), Jarred Houston (19) & Zach Waterhouse (15)
Assists: Chad DiCenzo (3)
Rebounds: Houston (12) & O'Connor (10)
Steals: Waterhouse (3) & DiCenzo (2)
Blocks: Houston (1)
BRANDEIS
Points: Collin Sawyer (21), Lawrence Sabir, Chandler Jones & Eric D'Aguanno (13)
Assists: Sabir (6)
Rebounds: Nolan Hagerty (8)
Steals: Sabir (3)
Blocks: Mike Gao (2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Waterhouse connected for a four point play after Brandeis committed a foul on his triple at 18:34 that gave Emerson its first and only lead of the game at 6-3.
- Holding on to a three-point deficit after Sawyer's layup (9-6), Brandeis set off on a 9-2 spurt that pushed the hosts lead into double digits (18-8) at the 14:39 mark.
- Buckets from O'Connor, freshman Ben Allen (Hampton Falls, N.H.) and Houston kept Emerson within nine of the Judges before the hosts once again ballooned its lead into double figures.
- After Jones put up a trey at 5:53 and extended Brandeis' lead to 21 (42-21), O'Connor converted on two perfect trips to the free throw line followed by four points apiece from Houston and Waterhouse to power Emerson to a quick 12-0 run and climb back within single digits (42-33).
- Dylan Lein went two-for-two at the charity stripe to lift Brandeis back to a ten point advantage until O'Connor went off for the Lions' five points as the hosts entered the locker room with the score down by eight (46-38).
- An 11-2 Brandeis run opened the second frame with the lead bumped to 17 (57-40) after Sabir sank a three at 17:19.
- 16 seconds later, O'Connor nailed a jumper that once again set off another lengthy Emerson spurt and held the Judges scoreless during a 10-0 run that allowed the visitors to climb to within seven (57-50).
- Emerson continued to keep pace with Brandeis and put themselves just two points behind the Judges at the 6:36 mark after a 10-3 spark that was capped off by a layup by DiCenzo (62-60).
- The game remained neck-and-neck over the next three minutes as Emerson never let Brandeis get too comfortable as the Judges' lead diminished back to two after Beckwith connected for a three followed by a Waterhouse tip-in (69-67).
- With under two minutes remaining in regulation, O'Connor came in clutch with a triple at 1:26 that powered the Lions to within one (73-72).
- D'Aguanno made a free throw with the Brandeis lead back at two (74-72) only to have O'Connor step to the line and respond with both free throws falling through to level the game at 74-all.
- Brandeis gained the last regulation possession and made it count as Sawyer put up the buzzer beating game-winning layup.
UP NEXT
- Emerson continues its road stint with an early morning contest down at Hartford starting at 11:00 a.m.
- Brandeis has a quick turnaround with a matchup out at Suffolk on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
