Taking on a very athletic Emmanuel College Tuesday night, the men’s basketball team got great production from their starters, fought through some tough moments, and emerged with a gratifying 77-69 victory.
This was a statement game. This was a game that would show how far this young team has come in their first eight games. Playing in front of their home crowd for the last time before a long break, the Cards had a chance to push their record to 5-4 and gain some momentum heading into a winter break chockfull of games. If it is possible to call a game in early December a very important game, this was the game.
The Cards jumped out to a 20-10 lead after six-and-a-half minutes of play when Jimmy Shepherd ’07 and Blake Curry ’07 both hit two three-pointers each. After taking a 36-27 lead into halftime, the Cards came out sluggish in the second half and Emmanuel cut the lead to five just three minutes into the second half. The Cards showed some fortitude and recovered, pushing the lead to 15 with 5:25 left to play; then hung on for the eight point victory, despite going just 8 for 14 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.
“It wasn’t pretty at times but it was a ‘W’, and it feels great to get back over .500,” Shepherd, who lead the Cards in scoring with 19 points, said. “Emanuel is a very athletic team, but we played smart and got the job done. Hopefully we can take care of business in Florida and enter the conference season on a good note.”
Nick Pelletier ’08 had his most impressive game of the year combining 15 points with 15 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass. Curry added 12 rebounds of his own along with 16 points, including a four-for-four performance from three-pointer land. With four different players making double digit point contributions and Curry and Pelletier combining for 27 rebounds, this game displayed the Card’s most balanced attack of the year thus far.
“At any point in the season it feels great to have a winning record,” Pelletier said. “It feels even better with a team where we are so young and have played very inconsistent in many of our tough losses. To beat Emmanuel, one of the most athletically gifted teams we will face all year, is a great achievement. It gives us confidence heading into the break that we are capable of playing a complete game without any mental lapses due to inexperience.”
Captain Jared Ashe ’07 turned in another strong performance at point guard. Just two rebounds shy of a triple double, Ashe dished out 11 assists to go with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
“It was a big win for us going into the break,” said Ashe. “To finish 5-4, being over .500, [gives] us tons of momentum for our tourney in Florida,”
Three of Emmanuel’s starters—guard Rob Williams-Hinton ’09 (17), guard Toliver Thomas ’07 (13), and center Brian Lindsey ’09 (15)—finished with double digits as the Saints dropped to 2-3 on the season.
The Cards are now off until they travel to Florida for the Land of Magic Classic on Dec. 28 and 29. They will then return to New England to play five NESCAC games over winter break, including two against Amherst and one against Williams. Their next home games are against Amherst and Trinity on Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21 respectively.
Leave a Reply