Following a narrow victory over Springfield College, the Emerson men’s basketball team battled the Wheaton College Lyons in the final home game of the regular season. The Lions also honored senior guard Lucas Brenner and graduate guard Trevor Arico as part of their senior night celebration.
“Those are two phenomenal young men that are gonna go on to do a lot of successful things when they leave here,” associate head coach Sean Coman said. “[They are] tremendous young men that work hard and care for their teammates and gave a lot to the program through their time here. Very appreciative for their effort and time and commitment to the program.”
When reflecting on his time as a Lion, Brenner said he’ll remember the brotherhood the most.
“We’ve always had good teams, everybody likes each other,” he said. “[We’re] always hanging out at the dining hall, everybody always sees us—probably a little too loud, but just the camaraderie. I’m lucky enough where I’ll still be on a team, but I’m definitely going to miss these guys for sure.”
“I always say I’ve been fortunate enough to play with so many different players,” Arico said. “Different generations of Emerson basketball, with Nate [Martin], [Zach] Waterhouse, Jarred Houston going to James Beckwith, Max Davis, Ben Allen, Steve Fabrizio—all those guys—to now, seeing freshmen that I’m still super tight with as well. I’m just fortunate enough to meet so many different people.”
Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the Lions fell to Wheaton for the second time this season, 72-50.
Junior guard Jacob Armant got the Lions on the board with a mid-range jumper at the 19:33 mark, before Wheaton responded with their own bucket moments later. A pair of Wheaton threes gave them an 8-2 advantage, though the Lions began chipping away. A steal and slam by senior center Asher Gardiner brought Emerson within one, 14-13, with 13:34 left. The Lions eventually regained the lead on a putback layup by junior center Linus Helmhold, going up 28-27 with 6:15 remaining. The trading of baskets continued in the opening period, as Wheaton converted a layup with 32 seconds left and took a 38-36 lead into halftime.
Both teams were red hot from beyond the arc, as Emerson buried six of their 11 three-point attempts (54.5%) while Wheaton drilled five of nine from deep (55.6%).
Wheaton put on a scoring clinic to begin the second half, going on a 7-0 run in the period’s opening minutes. A pair of Lyons threes gave the visitors a 14-point lead with under 16 minutes remaining. Another Wheaton three brought the deficit to 17, 60-43, with over 13 minutes to go. Both teams then went cold for the next seven minutes. Armant’s mid-range jumper over two defenders broke the scoring drought with six minutes to play. Wheaton continued to put points on the board with twos, threes and free throws, ultimately handing the Lions a 22-point defeat. Wheaton tallied 34 points in the second half—including six threes—while the Lions shot 5/26 in the period (19.2%) and went 1/10 from three.
Armant led the Lions with 15 points on 6/13 shooting from the field and 3/5 from three, along with five rebounds and three assists. Helmhold also finished in double figures with 13 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. Brenner’s senior night ended with eight points, four rebounds and one assist.
The loss holds significant implications for Emerson’s postseason hopes. They are now tied with Wheaton for the fifth spot in the NEWMAC, both having identical 6-9 conference records and standing at 11-13 overall.
“I thought they stuck together even when it got dicey,” Coman said. “You can take that away, and at least hopefully build on not breaking completely. But [it was] definitely not the result we were looking for tonight, and you don’t get these back. So, we [have] to be better on Saturday.”
“Coach [Bill Curley] is always saying we’re the cat with nine lives,” Arico said. “We got another one on Saturday.”
The Lions tackle Salve Regina on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. The NEWMAC men’s basketball playoffs begin Tuesday, Feb. 25, with seeding to be released once the regular season concludes.
Arico said a win to round out the regular season will take “everything.”
“It’s gonna take letting go of mistakes,” he said. “It starts with me, it starts with [the] older guys. I think we let it affect us a little bit when we went down. In the playoffs, you’re always in the game. You’ve got to let stuff go—no one cares what happened last play, last game, last year. Just move on, try to win the game.”
Brenner believes the key to victory lies in “extreme focus,” eyeing redemption after the Seahawks beat the Lions in January.
“Salve came in here and absolutely waxed us, but they are a beatable team,” he added. “It’s their senior night. I definitely want to do to them what Wheaton just did to me.”
“It’s gonna come down to toughness and how bad do you want it,” Coman said. “Everyone’s gonna be fighting for their lives and doing the best they can to work hard and just try and come together and find a way to win. Road wins are hard in this league. Getting into the playoffs is hard in this league. [The key is] doing the best they can to just stick together and find a way to win.”
