With 80-68 Win Over Emerson
Release at will
February 26, 2004
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Johnson & Wales University men’s basketball advanced to the Championship Game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference on Thursday evening with an 80-68 victory against Emerson at the Harborside Recreation and Athletic Center.
Senior Rohan Russell (Providence, R.I.) scored a game-high 41 points and added three rebounds and two steals while junior Sam Tamargo (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 14 points and four assists in the victory. Leading the way for Emerson in the setback was senior Robert Hennigan (Worcester, Mass.) who tallied 23 points and added three rebounds and three assists while sophomore Steve Georgoulis (New York, N.Y.) added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the setback.
The two teams traded leads early on before Emerson used a 12-5 run, capped by a pair of free throws from Georgoulis to take a 23-16 lead with 6:16 left in the first half. The Wildcats responded, however and tied the game on a three-pointer from Tamargo with 2:12 left in the first half. JWU then ran off five unanswered points and took the 35-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half as the two teams traded leads five times in the first ten minutes. With the game tied at 49-49 with 10:24 left, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run and took their largest lead of the second half, 56-49 on a three-pointer from Russell with 9:21 left in the game. Johnson & Wales continued to build on the advantage, however Emerson got to with five points after a conventional three-point play from Hennigan made the score 65-60 with 3:19 left in the contest. That would be as close as the Lions would get, however as Johnson & Wales held on for the 80-68 victory.
With the win Johnson & Wales improves to 20-7 while Emerson falls to 14-13 for the year. The Wildcats will host Southern Vermont, who defeated Norwich in the other GNAC Semifinal on Tuesday, at the Harborside RAC on Saturday, February 28th at 1:00 p.m.