MILLEDGEVILLE, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team traveled to Milledgeville, GA this afternoon to take on Georgia College & State University in a regional match-up. The contest was evenly matched from the start, with multiple ties and lead changes early. The Lions led 38-34 at the half and would extend their lead to as much as 12 points, but a late run by the Bobcats would keep it interesting. The Lions would close the game strong to bring home an 82-79 victory. With the win, the Lions improve to 8-6 on the season.
Emmanuel jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the first behind buckets by
Chris Dees and
Tavarus Webb. The Bobcats would tie things at 8 and the two teams would trade points and the lead. Midway through the first, back-to-back three pointers by
Jasper Gibson would give the Lions a 26-23 lead and the Lions would continue on 11-0 run to make it 31-23 with 5:53 to play. In the first, the Lions were 11-27 from the field (40.7%) and 7-16 from three-point range (43.7%). Emmanuel was a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe. At the break, the Lions led the Bobcats by four, 38-34.
After the break, the Lions extended their lead to 12 points, behind hot-shooting by
Chris Dees who ended the night 5-7 from three-point range. The Bobcats would battle back to trim the Lion lead to single digits. With 4:28 to play, Georgia College would cut Emmanuel's lead to 69-67, but key threes from Dees and
Devin Story would put the Lions ahead, 75-67. The Lions shot 58% in the first half, connecting on 7-13 from beyond the arc. Georgia College would rally back to bring the game within four points, but the Lions closed the game out at the foul line to win it, 82-79.
Tavarus Webb led the Lions with 23 points on the night, with
Chris Dees contributing 21.
Kendall Latney led the Lions with 6 rebounds, with Webb and
Elisee Ehuie adding 5 a piece.
Next up, the Lions will hit the road to Murfreesboro, NC to face Chowan in conference play on Saturday at 4PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.
