THE BASICS 

Score: Bridgewater State 81, Emerson 79

Records: Emerson Lions (1-2) ; Bridgewater State Bears (3-0)

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

Date: November 16, 2022

The Lead: Senior James Beckwith connected for the game-tying triple with 14 seconds left, but it was not enough as the Emerson men's basketball team were edged out in the final seconds by Bridgewater State, 81-79, on Wednesday night. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Nate Martin: 22 points
Beckwith: 15 points
Jarred Houston: 12 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks
Trevor Arico: 12 points
Brendan McNamara: six assists 

BRIDGEWATER STATE

Precious Okoh: 23 points
Emerson Halbleib: 20 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, three blocks
Dante Kikuba: 14 points, seven assists 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Halbieb's back-to-back layups and a triple from Peyton Priest had Emerson playing from behind to begin the opening half as they trailed three just three minutes in. 
• Two consecutive midrange jumpers from Martin helped get Emerson back in front and ignited a 12-2 run that had the Lions gain the 16-9 advantage at 13:19. 
• Just after Emerson claimed the seven-point edge, it quickly slipped away as the offense could not convert a basket over the next three minutes. Okoh single-handedly put up eight points in Bridgewater's 17-2 spurt that pushed them back in front by three at 24-18.
• The Bears used the three to extend their lead over the Lions to nine at 27-18. The visitors tacked on three more to keep their lead at eight with 7:10 on the clock. 
• For the remaining six minutes of the half, Emerson held Bridgewater scoreless and allowed the Lions to close the frame on a 17-2 spurt with the score at 39-32. 
• Emerson's seven point lead disappeared within 36 seconds into the second at the hands of Halbleib, who dropped five quick points to cut the Lions' lead down to two at 39-37. The Bears' sparked for a 10-3 run to lift themselves back in front at 47-44, but Martin nailed a triple to lock the score at 47-all.
• With the score leveled, the Bears capitalized on missed baskets by the Lions and continued to drop three's and went on another lengthy 12-0 run to push the score to 59-50.
• A triple from Arico at 6:46 pulled Emerson within one at 63-62, which set the Lions' offense off and hit a stride as a three from Martin followed by a trey from Houston locked the game up twice at 65 and 67. 
• Down seven with 54 ticks in regulation, another trifecta from Martin pulled Emerson to within a pair at 78-76. Priest converted one free throw to bring the Bears' lead to three, but Beckwith answered on the other end with a game-tying triple to level the game at 79-all with 14 seconds left. 
• Emerson's comeback hopes were dashed when Okoh sent up the go-ahead trey as the Lions fell 81-79. 

UP NEXT

• Emerson heads into a Division I matchup on Saturday, November 19 when they head to Lowell to take on Mass.-Lowell for a 5:00 tip-off.