Men’s Basketball Drops Beantown Battle with Emerson, 66-59

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball fell in a pre-Thanksgiving, Boston tangle to Emerson, 66-59, Tuesday night at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 59 | Emerson 66
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-3) | Emerson (2-3)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Despite a back-and-forth opening, Suffolk trailed five, 12-7, eight minutes into the action. The Rams slowly played catchup and forced three lead exchanges that landed in the Lions' favor, 19-18, with just over five minutes left in the first frame.  
• After Jacob Armant put away two freebies, Marquis White responded with a traditional 3-point play to even the score at 21-all at the 2:47 mark. Rams' foul trouble paid off for Emerson as the visitors closed the half with four freebies to send Suffolk into the locker room down 25-21. 
• Similar to how the game got underway, the teams traded hoops out of halftime before Emerson built a small, six-point gap, 33-27. 
• Suffolk battled back thanks to a 14-4 run to take a 41-37 lead with 12:16 left on the clock. The go-ahead rally featured eight points from Harrison Neil. 
• The blue-and-gold remained in front of the next four minutes and took a 46-41 cushion into its own under eight-minute timeout. The Lions clawed back out of the huddle with nine answered to put the host in a 50-46 hole with just over five minutes left on the clock.  
• For every hoop the Rams managed to muster down the stretch Emerson had a response, which sealed Suffolk's setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• White supplied a team-high 15 points behind a 6-for-15 day from the floor to go along with five boards, three assists two steals and one block. 
• Nick Verdile registered 13 points, four helpers and two caroms. 
• Greg Keane compiled a 10-point performance on a 5-for-8 production rate from the floor. The junior added five boards, one swat and one takeaway. 
• Neil notched 10 points, seven rebounds, one block, one assist and one steal off the bench.
• James Jones had a well-balanced effort of eight points, seven boards, one dime and one steal. 
• Both teams converted 12 points off turnovers. 
• The Rams turned their 13 offensive boards into 19 points. 
• Emerson outrebounded Suffolk, 45-36.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday then its right back to work to get up for its Conference of New England (CNE) debut at Wentworth Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m.