THE BASICS 

Score: Emerson 88, Keene State 82

Records: Emerson Lions (6-2) ; Keene State Owls (6-2, 1-0 LEC)

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

Date: December 6, 2021 

The Lead: Junior Max Davis dropped 25 points off the bench followed by double-digit showings from both seniors Zach Waterhouse and Jarred Houston and junior James Beckwith as the Emerson men's basketball team came away with the 88-82 victory over Keene State on Monday night, its fourth in a row. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Davis: 25 points
Waterhouse: 19 points
Houston: 12 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks & seven assists
Beckwith: 10 points
Ben Allen: three steals

KEENE STATE 

Jeff Hunter: 14 points, six assists & two blocks
James Anozie: 14 points & 14 rebounds
Mason Jean Baptiste & Octavio Brito: 13 points
Nate Siow: 12 points
Jeric Cichon: three steals

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• After Keene State and Emerson exchanged the lead several times through the opening seven minutes of the first half, Davis capped off a 5-0 Lions spurt with a triple that pushed the hosts to the 15-10 advantage.
• Four more lead changes occurred up to the 7:24 mark when Davis canned a jumper that kickstarted a quick 6-0 run that gave Emerson their biggest lead of the frame at 28-22. 
• Back-to-back triples from Brito and Jordan Santos gave Keene State the lead at two before senior Nate Martin banked a three of his own to level the score at 40-all. 
• Martin's triple was the last basket Emerson would convert in the first half as the Owls dropped five points in the final 1:28 and the Lions entered the locker room down 45-40. 
• The game remained neck-and-neck to begin the second half with leads never going over three, but it was at 14:29 when Baptiste canned a three to set the Owls off on a 5-0 spark as the Lions now trailed by six at 54-38. 
• Emerson narrowed the score to within at least three over the next two minutes before a Chichon trey put Keene State up by six at the 12:15 mark. Thanks to three free throws and a triple, Emerson pulled back to a 60-all tie. 
• After Davis saw another shot from the arc fall through at 8:15 to inch Emerson back within one at 65-64, Waterhouse's perfect trip to the line followed by a Beckwith three, the Lions claimed the three-point 68-65 edge with 6:48 to go. 
• Santos nailed the 68-all equalizer at 5:59 only to have Emerson capitalize on a turnover and two missed three's and respond with a 6-0 run to give the Lions a 74-68 lead. 
• The teams each went back-and-forth at the net as Keene State stayed within a pair up until 1:57 when both Beckwith and senior Chad DiCenzo drained consecutive three's to put the Owls down 83-74 with 30 ticks left in regulation. 
• Baptiste tallied two late triples in the final five seconds of the game as a free throw by Houston iced the 88-82 Lions victory.

UP NEXT 

• Emerson heads out to Worcester State on Thursday, December 9th for its second to last road contest of the 2021 portion of their schedule.