SPARTANBURG, SC - The men's basketball team began postseason play on Saturday afternoon. Their No. 2 seed earned them a bye to the semifinals, where they faced No. 3 Belmont Abbey. The Crusaders ended Emmanuel's chance at a championship, defeating the Lions 93-70. 

First half:
The Crusaders kicked off the afternoon with a pair of free throws, but sophomore Jayvion Rucker quickly responded with the first bucket for the Lions. Over the next five minutes, the Crusaders outpaced the Lions, building a 16-9 advantage. Senior Isaiah Foster then knocked down a three pointer before senior Brandon Simpson went 1-2 from the free throw line to bring the Lions back within a possession, 13-16. Four unanswered from the Crusaders extended their lead once more before sophomore KJ Jones II sank a pair from the stripe to make it 15-20. 

The pace picked up as the teams traded turnovers and fast breaks. With nine minutes left in the half the Lions trailed by two, 23-25. A basket from Belmont Abbey was followed with a three from freshman Jasper Gibson, but the Crusaders quickly answered with a three of their own to make their advantage four, 30-26. However, fast break points for the Crusaders increased Emmanuel's deficit to eight, 28-36 with three minutes on the clock. Belmont Abbey continued the momentum, gaining their largest lead of the day, 40-30. With 20 seconds on the clock, freshman Chris Dees knocked down a three pointer to make the score 33-40 at the break. The Crusaders went 16-30 (53.3%) from the field in the first, versus 11-26 (42.3%) for the Lions. 

Second half:
Rucker started the half with a pair of free throws for the Lions. After a basket for the Crusaders, a put back by Simpson made the score 38-42. Seven unanswered points gave the Crusaders their largest lead, 49-38. A stagnant stretch for the Lions ended when a three point play from Jones made the deficit seven, 44-51. Rucker then made a three pointer, sending the crowd into a frenzy. With every passing minute the tension rose. Every blow of the whistle was argued by one side or the other as the intensity rocked the arena. However, the Crusaders soon regained their double-digit advantage, 60-50 with 11 minutes remaining. Over the next several minutes Belmont Abbey continued to control the pace, extending their advantage to 16 with seven minutes remaining, 73-57. Dees and Simpson both made threes for Emmanuel, but the Crusaders answered with three pointers of their own as they began to pull away. Incredibly hot shooting by the Crusaders ended Emmanuel's hopes. They shot 67% from the field and 64% from three in the second half as they eventually defeated the Lions, 93-70. 

Jones and Rucker finished with 16 points each, recording 6 and 5 boards, respectively. Simpson and Dees each had 8 points. 

This concludes the 2021-22 season for men's basketball. 

For more on Emmanuel College athletics, visit goeclions.com.