The Emerson College men’s basketball team traded snow for sunshine to begin winter break, facing two Southern California schools as part of its non-conference slate. The Lions survived a battle against the California Lutheran University Kingsmen, earning their fifth-straight win, 66-62.

Head coach Bill Curley appreciated the team’s toughness against a physical opponent.

“They’re big, they’re strong,” he said in reference to the Kingsmen. “The refs were letting the boys play a little bit, and we didn’t cry, we didn’t look for fouls. We played through that stuff, and it wasn’t pretty, and our guys didn’t give up. … They just kept playing their roles and attacking their mission.”

That physicality, along with speed, defined much of a close first half. Junior guard Guillermo Gasset Ruiz tied the game at 12 with a three-pointer at the 10:32 mark. The Kingsmen scored six straight over the next couple of minutes, forcing the Lions to regroup with 7:13 remaining. A pair of dunks by senior center Linus Helmhold and sophomore forward Giulio Volonte kept Emerson energized, eventually trailing by three with 6:12 to go. With Cal Lutheran maintaining a six-point advantage, the Lions turned on the jets to end the period, going on an 8-2 run to tie the game at 28 by halftime.

A three by senior guard Brendan McNamara and mid-range jumper from Helmhold had the Lions up 33-28 a minute into the second half. The Kingsmen cut the deficit again and spent the next few minutes tying or taking the lead. The Thousand Oaks-based contest featured some moments of Hollywood flair, from the Kingsmen burying a three after a pair of nifty passes to Volonte going up and between two defenders for a layup. Midway through the period, the Lions led 50-49 with 10:36 remaining.

Emerson gained momentum with buckets from McNamara, Armant, and Helmhold, earning a 59-54 lead with 6:54 to go. Gramlich answered the bench’s calls for defense when he blocked a three at the 5:41 mark and forced a shot clock violation. Though the Lions couldn’t scratch on the next possession and the Kingsmen earned two points from the free-throw line, Gasset Ruiz’s corner three put Emerson up six with 2:36 remaining. After his layup at the 1:25 mark, free throws closed out the rest of the game, with Emerson hanging on for the victory down the stretch.

Gasset Ruiz led the Lions with 19 points on 7/12 shooting from the field, a performance that inspired the team’s lively rendition of “¡Feliz Navidad!” heard outside the locker room. Helmhold recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Armant finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and six assists.

Curley said the chaotic and “ugly” nature of practices served the team well against the Kingsmen.

“When these guys stop worrying about playing basketball and … [are] just playing the game and competing, they’re pretty good,” he added. “We still have a long way to go. We’re not there yet, but I like the direction we’ve been trending.”

Gasset Ruiz noted how the Lions’ composure helped them deal with the rough play from Cal Lutheran.

“It’s just important to keep our heads, don’t complain to the refs, … and I think we did a great job of [doing] that,” he added. “And then we keep each other accountable. Once we see someone getting a little heated, we calm them down.”

With the Lions’ next game coming in less than 24 hours, Gasset Ruiz believes, “The only thing we can do is watch film.”

“We just keep playing the way we have been, focus on ourselves, and everything will be fine,” he said.

Curley emphasized that such a quick turnaround is designed toward a larger goal: earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament, which Emerson last reached in 2022.

“This is great preparation, because it’s big picture thinking,” he added. “[We’re] trying to get these guys [to understand] that you gotta show up every day. That’s going to be the big thing, ‘Can they mentally do it?’”

But for now, nearing the end of the calendar year, Curley likes where the Lions are at in the middle of the season.

“They’re starting to see things, and our execution, timely passing, and having a better understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “It’s just getting all these guys that haven’t had much game experience … up to speed. And the guys that have had it, they [have] to continue to understand time-score situation, who’s hot, who’s not, [and] how [other teams] are playing us. We’re getting there.”

The Lions travel to Orange County to face the Chapman University Panthers today at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.