FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team hosted Francis Marion University this afternoon in conference action. The first half was a battle, with the two teams trading points and the lead. At the half, the game was knotted at 35-35. The Lions shot 58% from the field and 55% from three in the second half to explode for a 16-point victory, 83-67! With the win, the Lions improve to 8-11 on the season, 5-6 in conference play.
The teams traded points and the lead early in the first half, with
Ezra McKee,
Sam Thacker and Rett VandeMark getting in on the action. The three-pointer from
Devin Story gave the Lions the 18-14 led with 11:38 to play in the first, but the Patriots responded to retake the lead with 6:05 to play, 24-23. Late in the half, the Lions jumped back ahead by 5-points on a three-pointer from
Isaac Jones to make the score 31-26, but the Patriots answered to tie the game at 35-35 heading into the break. In the first half, the Lions shot 45% from the field (13-29), connecting on 5-15 from beyond the arc.
The Lions opened up the second half on a 9-0 run made up of three-point jumpers from McKee and Jones, along with a slam dunk from Story to make the score 49-35, Lions with 17:20 to play. The Lions pushed their lead to double digits on another three from Jones and jumpers from McKee and Story to make it 59-46, Lions with 11:44 to play. The Lions shot 58% from the field in the half, connecting on 56% from beyond the arc and controlled the pace of the half to push their lead to as much as 21 points on back-to-back dunks by
Matthew McKenzie with 2:01 to play to put the Lions up 79-58. A dunk from
Massimo Moretti put an exclamation point on the Lions 83-67 victory.
Devin Story and
Ezra McKee led the Lions in scoring with 19 points apiece, while
Sam Thacker (14) and
Isaac Jones (13) ended the night in double figures scoring. McKee led the team in rebounds with 7, while Jones added 6 assists and 5 steals on the afternoon.
The Lions will be back in action on Thursday at 7PM as they host Belmont Abbey College in conference play.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.