SPARTANBURG, SC – The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team traveled to Spartanburg, SC to compete in the Conference Carolinas Championship Quarterfinals this afternoon against #3 seeded, Ferrum College. The Panthers jumped out to a lead early, but the Lions responded well to take a 40-32 lead into the half. The Lions pushed their lead to 11 early in the 2^nd half, but the Panthers answered to pull within 4 points late. The Lions closed the game out strong to earn the win, 73-67 to move onto a semifinal match up against #2 Young Harris tomorrow at 2:45PM. 

The Panthers took an early 10-6 lead, but the Lions used three-pointers from Sam Thacker and Issac Jones to tie the game at 16-16. Brady Peery came on strong midway through the first, connecting on a layup and an and one opportunity to put the Lions up 19-18. Ezra McKee connected from three to push the Lions lead to 26-20 with 7:15 to play before half and Devin Story followed that up with another three pointer to make it 29-23, Lions. The Panthers cut the Lions lead to 2 points with 2:48 to play in the half, 30-28 but a jumper from Peery and back-to-back threes by Jones put the Lions up by 9, 39-30. The Lions led 40-32 at the halftime break, with Isaac Jones leading the way with 12 points. In the first half, the Lions shot 52% from the field, connecting on 7-11 (64%) from three-point range.

The Lions quickly pushed their lead to double digits to start the 2^nd half on buckets by McKee, Thacker and Devin Story to make it 47-36 with 16:41 to play. The Panthers responded to cut the Lions lead to 6 with 12:41 to play, 50-44 but free throws by Story pushed the Lions lead back up to 8, 52-44. Ferrum answered back to cut the Lions lead to 2, 52-50 but a jumper by Story and a tip-in from Andrija Vujacic gave the Lions a 5-point lead, 58-53 with 6:22 to play. A dunk from McKee and a jumper by Peery put the Lions up 62-56 with 3:24 to play, but Ferrum responded to cut the lead to 4 with 1:28 to play. The Lions closed the game out strong with a layup by McKee and free-throws by Thacker to make the final, 73-67 Lions. The Lions shot 43% from the field in the half, going 14-18 from the foul line.
Devin Story led the Lions with 22 points on the afternoon with Ezra McKee (14), Isaac Jones (12) and Sam Thacker (11) rounding out the top scorers. Story and Andrija Vujacic led the team with 6 rebounds apiece, while Story added 4 assists and a block to lead the team.

Next up, the Lions will face #2 seed, Young Harris in the Conference Carolinas Championship Semifinals tomorrow at 2:45PM at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.