STEVE MOORE SUNSHINE SHOOTOUT 

THE BASICS 

Score: Wooster 63, Emerson 56

Location: Winter Park, Fla. (Rollins College)

Date: December 19, 2022

The Lead: A double-double of 13 rebounds and 12 points from graduate Jarred Houston followed by 10 additional points from graduate Nate Martin paced the Emerson men's basketball team, but the Lions fell in the opening game of the Steve Moore Sunshine Shootout to Wooster, 63-56, on Monday afternoon.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

EMERSON

Houston: 12 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two blocks

Martin: 10 points

Ben Allen & James Beckwith: two steals 

WOOSTER

Jamir Billings: 14 points, six rebounds, three steals, one blocks

Elijah Meredith: 13 points

Najee Hardaway: 11 points

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Within the opening three minutes, Emerson burst out to an 11-2 lead that started and ended on buckets from Martin. Less than a minute after Emerson gained the nine-point lead, Wooster answered with a 14-0 run as JJ Cline's triple gave Fighting Scots the 16-11 edge.
• Emerson was able to keep pace with Wooster through the midst of the first and closed the gap to one at 16-15 after back-to-back baskets from senior Ben Allen and freshman Brendan McNamara.
• Wooster dropped two shots from downtown within a 9-2 spark to keep Emerson down seven at 26-19 with 3:28 on the clock. 
• Through the final 2:42, Emerson spread six points down the stretch and chipped Wooster's seven-point lead down to three after sophomore Trevor Arico's successful trip to the line put the score at 28-25 at the break.
• Seven points fell through for Wooster as six minutes passed to start off the second frame as Emerson faced the first double-digit deficit of the game at 37-25. It was not until 13:49 that the Lions cashed in on a three from graduate Sean Coman to pull back within nine at 37-28.
• McNamara knocked down a jumper at 13:02 as Emerson trailed by single-digits at nine, however, it was Meredith's two consecutive trifectas to pushed the Lions' deficit to 15 at 45-30, the largest of the game.
• Emerson used from 9:46 to 5:36 to spread a 13-5 run and inch back within six at 52-46 after Houston knocked down a jumper. 
• Martin's pair of buckets kept Emerson in striking distance at seven at 58-51 with 1:55 left in regulation as the game made its way to the free throw stripe. Beckwith converted a jump shot with six seconds left to move the score to 62-56.
• Wooster put in one final free throw two seconds later as Emerson fell, 63-56. 

UP NEXT

• Emerson has a quick turnaround tomorrow, Tuesday, December 20th, with the closing game of the Steve Moore Sunshine Shootout against Augsburg at 3:00 p.m.