Emmanuel Uses Late Overtime Basket to Defeat Men's Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Zachary Crisafulli's (Easthampton, Mass.) jumper with 2.7 seconds left in overtime lifted the Emmanuel College men's basketball team (6-1) to a 97-96 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology (6-2) in non-conference action Sunday afternoon.

THE BASICS:

LEADING SCORERS:  Kevin Fernandez, 23; Stephen Azums, 22; Trey Carrier, 21
LEADING REBOUNDER:  Stephen Azums, 11
ASSIST LEADERS:  Kyle Henseler, 4; Trey Carrier, 4

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Emmanuel jumped out to an early, 6-0 lead and extended its lead to 11 (17-6) on a three pointer from senior Blake Hardy (Waterbury, Conn.). After junior Trey Carrier (Wilton, N.H.) hit a pair of free throws, the Saints got a three pointer from graduate student Dan Flaherty (Warwick, R.I.) and a pair of free throws from sophomore Devin Pulsifer (Winthrop, Mass.) to take their largest lead of the half, 22-8, with 13:39 remaining.
• A 12-5 Wentworth run, capped off by one of two free throws from sophomore Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.), brought the Leopards to within seven (27-20) with just over nine minutes left. The Saints maintained the lead, matching the Leopards basket for basket and took a nine-point lead on a pair of Hardy free throws. Freshman Jack Schaake (Hampton, N.H.) responded with four straight points to make it 39-34 with 2:04 left in the half. Emmanuel scored four of the next five points to push its lead back to nine with 46 seconds left after a three from Pulsifer, however, a three-point play by Carrier pulled the Black & Gold within six (44-38) at the break.
• Emmanuel pushed its lead to nine on three occasions, including when senior Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) converted a three-point play with 12:29 to play. Wentworth trimmed the lead to four (57-53) after sophomore Noah Bice (Woodacre, Calif.) converted a three-point play but the hosts used a 9-0 run to bring their lead back to double digits (66-53) after junior Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn.) hit a three pointer.
• Trailing by 13 with 5:49 remaining, Wentworth used an 8-0 run to pull back within five as Carrier and Fernandez each hit three pointers and senior Stephen Azums (Hyde Park, Mass.) made a layup. With 3:25 left, Azums made two free throws to bring the Leopards back within five, which started a 7-2 run as Carrier scored Wentworth's next five points, bringing the Black & Gold to within just two. Moulder ended the run with a three, which was quickly matched by a three from Fernandez.
• Senior Owen Greene (Killingworth, Conn.) hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to four before an Azums layup made it a two-point game with 27 seconds left. One of two free throws from Riddick gave the Saints a three-point edge, however, Azums made a layup with 15 ticks left, bringing Wentworth back to within one. Hardy made one of two free throws to make it a two-point game but Carrier's layup with five seconds left sent the game into overtime.
• The Leopards controlled the first bucket of overtime off another bucket by Azums, but Crisafulli matched the shot quickly to tie the game again. The remaining four minutes of play including a flurry of free-throws by both squads to keep the game within three in either direction.
• Wentworth trailed by three after Flaherty hit two free throws with 29 seconds left before Azums was fouled and hit both free throws to bring the Black & Gold within one. After an offensive foul, junior Kyle Henseler (Coventry, R.I.) gave Wentworth a 96-95 lead with 15 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Crisafulli hit a jumper with two seconds left to give Emmanuel a 97-96 lead. Wentworth's attempt to win the game at the buzzer was off the mark.
• Fernandez came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points for Wentworth while Azums recorded his seventh double-double in the first eight games, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Carrier added 21 points in the loss.
• Five players scored in double figures for Emmanuel led by Moulder's 18.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs. Despite Emmanuel winning its second straight game in the series, Wentworth holds a 4-3 overall edge.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth resumes Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Wednesday (December 4) at sixth-ranked Nichols.

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