THE BASICS 

Score: Emerson 77, Plymouth State 74

Records: Emerson Lions (4-2) ; Plymouth State Panthers (4-3) 

Location: Boston, Mass. (Brown & Plofker Gym)

Date: November 30, 2021

The Lead: The Emerson men's basketball team played comeback ball and held on to sneak past Plymouth State, 77-74, for the Lions second consecutive win. Senior Jarred Houston paced the Lions with a double-double game-high of 24 points and 13 boards. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Houston: 24 points, 13 rebounds & four blocks
Zach Waterhouse: 17 points 
Nate Martin: 12 points 
Vince Conn: four assists 

PLYMOUTH STATE 

Dante Rivera: 14 points
Yansel Reyes, Kyler Bosse & Giorgi Tsiklauri: 12 points
Bosse & Rivera: six rebounds
Reyes: four assists
Rivera, Manny Alisandro & Cody Graham: one steal

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Three ties were had between Emerson and Plymouth State in the first nine minutes of the opening half. At 936, an 8-0 run by the Panthers filled with a pair of triples by Tsiklauri pushed the visitors up by seven at 20-13. 
• At the 5:16 mark, Emerson found themselves down double-figures at 26-16 for the first time after the Panthers dropped another three. Though the Lions continued to play from behind, they were able to erase the 10-point margin at 2:41 all the way down to three thanks to a 7-0 spark to put the score at 33-30 going into the half. 
• Much like the beginning of the first frame, the second frame started off neck-and-beck between the two teams. Neither Emerson nor Plymouth State gave each other much breathing room as the margin never exceeded more than four. 
• After Emerson went ahead two at 48-46 when junior Max Davis drew the and-one, Plymouth State responded with the next five points to jump ahead by five at 53-48. 
• Down four with 8:03 left in regulation, Waterhouse saw his triple fall to inch Emerson back within one. With the help of Conn and Houston, the Lions reclaimed the lead for good at 63-60 at the 5:59 mark. 
• Plymouth State kept the remaining five minutes of play close and never strayed farther than a two-point deficit, which helped when Rivera went perfect at the line to lock the game at 68-all with 2:43 to go. 
• Emerson fired back on its end with a trey from Martin that was followed with a deep triple by Waterhouse as the Lions went up five at 73-68 with 1:39 on the clock.
• Though Plymouth State were only down a pair and five seconds remained, Martin iced Emerson's win at the charity stripe for the 77-74 victory. 

UP NEXT 

• Emerson trek out to Bridgewater State on Thursday, December 2nd for a non-conference meeting set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.