Following a tight win over California Lutheran University, the Emerson College men’s basketball team lost to the Chapman University Panthers Saturday, 88-63. The result split the Lions’ West Coast road trip and snapped a five-game winning streak dating back to Nov. 25.
While the Lions cut into an early first-half deficit, trailing 12-10 after a steal and layup by graduate forward Asher Gardiner, the Panthers’ perimeter prowess allowed them to pull away. Chapman nailed seven of 14 three-point attempts en route to a 47-29 halftime lead. The Panthers stayed hot in the second half, holding a 28-point cushion while the Lions got interior buckets from senior center Linus Helmhold and junior guard BJ McNeil, along with a deep three from junior forward Shay Roban.
Physical play from both sides came to a head late in the game. After a missed three by Chapman with less than six minutes left, junior forward Caden Zurek, graduate forward Otto Luessenhop and sophomore guard Hank Gramlich all dove for the loose ball alongside several Panthers. After a jump ball went Emerson’s way, a Chapman player pushed Gramlich, which set off a chain reaction of shoves involving him, Luessenhop, Zurek, and sophomore guard Roman Leraris.
Amid the melee, three Lions—Gardiner, junior guard Guillermo Gasset Ruiz, and sophomore forward Giulio Volonte—ran from the bench and were subsequently ejected from the game. Leraris, Zurek, and two Panthers received technical fouls for their roles in the scuffle.
Head coach Bill Curley said the second-half skirmish was a sign of the Lions’ toughness, adding, “We’re not backing down from anybody.”
“There’s a way to be strong, physical, and not cheap, and I don’t think our guys were cheap by any means, but the emotions got to them,” he said. “It’s just part of basketball and something that we’ll definitely learn from. But everything was decent until it wasn’t.”
The rest of the game continued without incident, with other Emerson reserves gaining opportunities in the waning moments. Senior forward Jeff Tan scored four points in six minutes of action, while sophomore guard Yoav Rabbi notched seven points in five minutes. The Panthers ran away with a 25-point victory, bouncing back from their own blowout loss on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Roban and McNeil led the Lions with nine points apiece off the bench, while Gardiner tallied eight points and three steals. Leraris and Rabbi, who each earned seven points, rounded out Emerson’s top five scorers.
Curley said he advised his team to let this result go, highlighting an otherwise solid stretch after a Nov. 20 loss to Tufts University.
“We had a month of incredible basketball,” he said. “[Focused] and locked in. After that Tufts game, they came together, and [after] Thanksgiving, they almost beat [UMass] Lowell. They hung in there with them. They beat a couple [teams], we got back on the winning side of things.”
“This is a hard trip,” Curley added. “Coming out here, we’re playing back-to-back games, because we think we want to get to the [NCAA Tournament], and this is what we have to understand: what it takes to play back-to-back games like that. … We’re really happy to get the split, but tonight, [Chapman] just played better, and we went back to our bad habits.”
Despite the loss, Curley said it is “nothing to be ashamed of.”
“You shake their hands, and it wasn’t because our guys didn’t try,” he added. “It just didn’t work tonight, so keep their heads up, get some rest, and come back, because it’s a sprint again.”
Going into January, he wants his players to remember that “winning is hard work.”
“They put the time in, they put the focus in, and [they] do that on top of the final projects, the final exams, and … it’s mentally draining, but you still [have] to go,” Curley said. “The whistle blows, and [the referees] throw the ball up, you gotta be ready to play. And you don’t get any redos or anything like that.”
“I’m really proud of how these guys have come together,” he continued. “Our first four games were terrible, to tell you the truth. And the last month, we’ve been fantastic. Tonight’s just one of those games. [Chapman] hit shots, and then we weren’t as sharp. … And that happens sometimes. That’s basketball. You [have] to be able to put these away, put them behind you.”
The Lions resume non-conference action at Hank Smith Court on Jan. 3, 2026, dueling the Bowdoin College Polar Bears at 1 p.m. Their next NEWMAC matchup is against Salve Regina University on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
