BOSTON, Mass. – Four players scored in double figures, including junior Michael Sheng (Altadena, Calif.) who had a game-high 18 points and six assists, as the Emerson College men's basketball team opened the season with a 73-57 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in the 2016 Coaches vs Cancer Greater Boston Shootout.
The Lions will play in Wednesday's championship game against Pine Manor, a 95-78 winner over Emmanuel. The Leopards and Saints will play in the consolation game.
Emerson used a 15-2 run to take a 15-4 lead after a Sheng basket with 14:34 remaining in the half. Wentworth cut the lead to seven three times, including on a jumper from junior Sam Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) with 11:09 remaining. The Lions built their lead back to 11 and didn't allow Wentworth to get any closer than seven as Knollmeyer made it a 30-23 game with 3:55 left in the half.
After a Sheng three pointer with 1:15 to play pushed the lead to 35-24, junior Michael Boaheng (Worcester, Mass.) made one of two free throws to make it a 35-25 contest at the break. Emerson shot 44.4 percent from the floor in the opening half while holding the hosts to 27.3 percent.
Scoring the first six points of the second half, the Lions would eventually take a 23-point lead (55-32) after a junior Jared Jackson (Marco Island, Fla.) transition layup. A 17-7 spurt by Wentworth cut the lead to 62-49 after a three-point play from junior Jason Ganley (Northbridge, Mass.) with 8:23 left in the contest. Emerson scored the next five points to extend its lead to 18 with just over four minutes left and put the game out of reach.
Juniors Corey Fitz (Los Altos, Calif.) and John Geary each scored 12 points for the Lions while sophomore Geoffrey Gray (Newton, Mass.) added 10 points in the win.
Ganley was the only Leopard to score in double figures, tallying 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Freshman Matt Vartanian (Salem, N.H.) had seven points and seven rebounds in his collegiate debut. Knollmeyer and classmate Cesar Fulcar (Watertown, Mass.) each scored six points.