THE BASICS 

Score: Emerson 94, Worcester State 81

Records: Emerson Lions (7-2) ; Worcester State Lancers (4-8, 0-0 MASCAC)

Location: Worcester, Mass. 

Date: December 9, 2021 

The Lead: It was a game-high 23 points from senior Zach Waterhouse and the contribution of five more Lions in double-figures that powered the Emerson men's basketball team to their fifth straight win in a 92-83 victory over Worcester State on Thursday night.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Waterhouse: 23 points
Jarred Houston: 18 points, 10 rebounds & two blocks
Chad DiCenzo: 12 points, seven assists & two steals
Max Davis, James Beckwith & Nate Martin: 11 points
Ben Allen: two steals

WORCESTER STATE

Erik Bjorn: 16 points
Sam Dion: 13 points
Chris Cardoso: 12 points
Otis Wheeler: 11 points & eight rebounds
Zion Hendrix: four assists
Four w/ two steals 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Waterhouse racked up a game-high 19 points in the opening 20 minutes while Emerson shot 60% from the floor to come out of the first half with the 51-43 lead over Worcester State. 
• Emerson trailed by as much as five nearly five minutes into the game and were able to dwindle the deficit down to one before they claimed the one-point 12-11 lead. 
• After Emerson grabbed the edge, Worcester State responded with an 8-0 spurt to take the seven-point 19-12 advantage at 13:22. The middle portion of the frame saw four lead changes exchanged between the teams before Worcester State pulled ahead by five at 35-30. 
• Over the next several minutes, there were two more ties and two lead changes up until the 1:29 mark when a trey by Davis began a 7-0 Emerson run to close the half with the eight point lead. 
• Emerson used the opening minutes of the second frame to boost their lead into double figures at 11 on a layup by Allen and continued to build as the half went on. Worcester State was able to cut their deficit into single digits at six after Dion drained a three, but another layup by Allen at 10:47 put the Lions back up 10 at 70-60.
• Five missed shots by the Lancers alongside and a pair of turnovers helped the Lions bolster its lead to 20 at 86-66 behind a bucket from Martin at the 5:12 mark. 
• Hendrix singlehandedly dropped five consecutive points to inch Worcester State within 11 in the final three minutes of regulation, but it was a jumper by Martin that sealed Emerson's 94-81 victory. 

UP NEXT 

• Emerson makes their way into NEWMAC competition with their first game of 2022 out at Babson on January 5th.