SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 21, 2026) – Springfield College held Emerson College under 30-percent shooting in the first half in gaining a 13-point advantage at the half on its way to a 72-58 victory in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball matchup in the regular season finale for both at Blake Arena this afternoon.
Senior Josiah Evely led a balanced Springfield scoring effort with a game-high 14 points, scoring 13 in the first half alone, with seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Hunter Matteson posted a double-double off the bench with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and game-best ten rebounds, while classmate Cedric Rodriguez made all four shots from the floor, including a three-pointer, and both free-throws for 11 points off the bench for the Pride. Senior Zander Robinson chipped in ten points, three boards, three assists and two blocked shots for the hosts.
Sophomore Giulio Volonte led Emerson with ten points off the bench with three assists. Postgrad Asher Gardiner added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with eight rebounds in his final collegiate game, while senior Jacob Armant capped his collegiate career with eight points and three boards. Sophomore Hank Gramlich chipped in seven points and a career-high matching six rebounds with three assists for the Lions.
Springfield jumped out to an 8-1 lead as Emerson missed its first 11 shots from the field while Evely scored the first six points of the contest for the Pride. Sophomore Roman Leraris broke the Lions drought with a layup with 13:42 to play in the half, but Springfield extended its lead into double figures (17-5) with a layup from sophomore Zachary Campbell less than nine minutes into the game. The Pride stretched their lead to as much as 15 (34-19) following a putback from Matteson with 3:41 to go before the intermission while the Lions shot just 29.4-percent in the first half overall, including 1-for-10 from three.
Emerson scored the first five points of the second half to trim its deficit to eight (39-31) following a Gramlich triple less than two minutes in, but Springfield followed with a 9-2 spurt to restore its 15-point margin (48-33) with a Rodriguez jumper three minutes later. The Lions rallied again, drawing within four (51-47) with 11 minutes still to play after four straight from Volonte capped a 14-3 run.
Emerson was still within two possessions (56-52) after a Leraris three-pointer with 7:32 to play, but Springfield sealed the win with a 14-2 run that opened the game's final margin (70-54) after a Campbell free-throw with 1:32 on the clock.
Noteworthy
- Gardiner finished as Emerson's leading rebounder for the 19th time in his career, including six games this season.
- Volonte reached double-figures in scoring for the fifth-straight game to cap the season, with six double-digit scoring games this season overall.
- Junior Ray Allen III made his first career start for Emerson.
- Emerson finished shooting 36.9-percent (24-for-65) from the floor overall, rallying with 45.2% (14-31) shooting in the second half, connecting on 3-of-28 (10.7%) three-pointers.
- Springfield made 50% (15-30) of its shots in the first half to aid in building its lead on its way to 43.1% (25-58) shooting overall.
Up Next
Emerson wraps up its 2025-26 season with a 9-16 record overall, including 5-11 in NEWMAC play. Springfield (10-15, 8-8 NEWMAC) turns its attention to the NEWMAC Tournament which gets underway on Tuesday and the No. 5-seeded Pride will visit No. 4 Wheaton for their first round matchup at 7 p.m.
For the latest on Emerson Athletics, follow the Lions via social media on Instagram and online at emersonlions.com powered by SIDEARM Sports.
