Following a loss to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in their second NEWMAC game, the Emerson men’s basketball team hosted a non-conference matchup against the Bridgewater State University Bears on Tuesday, Dec. 10—the first of a doubleheader as the women’s team took on Emmanuel later that evening.
Graduate guard Trevor Arico powered the Lions’ offense with a career-high 38 points as the Lions pulled off a tight 101-98 win over the Bears.
The Lions began the first half with a slim lead, going up 11-7 after Arico’s first three at the 17:05 mark. Two more Arico triples brought the Lions’ advantage to eight, 17-9, with 14:31 remaining, forcing the Bears to call a timeout. Another three, this time by sophomore forward Shay Roban, put Emerson up double-digits, and the Lions never looked back from there. The offensive clinic continued, with the Lions leading by as many as 20 when senior guard Lucas Brenner found sophomore forward Sam Ndu for a layup with less than six minutes left. Ndu nearly dunked on his defender with five minutes left, but senior center Asher Gardiner rose up for a two-hand slam on Emerson’s next possession. The Lions took a 52-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Arico barely cooled off after the break, nailing a jumper at the 17:30 mark to give him 20 points on the evening as the Lions led 60-44. The Bears cut into the Lions’ deficit through layups and free throws. Aside from Arico, the Lions received key second-half contributions from Gardiner, Brenner and junior guard Jacob Armant throughout the period, all doing their part to maintain a comfortable lead. But with five minutes to play, the Bears stole the ball and drilled a transition three, getting the game within single digits, 88-79, and sparking a late Bears comeback. The Lions saw their lead dwindle to five with 1:50 remaining.
However, Emerson sustained their advantage by converting free throws. Armant swished two from the line with 1:33 to go, giving the Lions a seven-point lead. The Bears still knocked on the Lions’ doorstep, getting within four, 99-95, with 23 seconds remaining. Arico made two more free throws at the 15-second mark before the Bears made a pivotal three—their fifth of the period—with nine seconds left. After sophomore forward Guillermo Gasset-Ruiz missed two free throws, the Bears attempted a deep game-tying three that ricocheted off the back of the rim at the buzzer. The Lions stifled a late Bears comeback and passed the century mark for the first time since 2020, when they scored 103 against Clark in February.
Head coach Bill Curley noticed how the team’s energy and efficiency increased Tuesday night, stark differences from Saturday’s loss, where they shot 22/60 (36.7%) from the field and 9/29 (31%) from three.
“[Against] Coast Guard, we couldn’t hit the river if we fell off the dock there,” Curley said.
Curley noted how difficult it was to maintain a double-digit lead, his team having both given up and come back from large deficits so far this season.
“But we just have to be better—21 turnovers is absurd, it’s just not good enough,” he said. “We have to have a better understanding and be able to catch and pass and not get sped up. We’re too loose in practice with that, and it carries over to the games. They’re trying to hit grand slams instead of [making] singles. … We just got to get back to the basics and get that hockey assist.”
Arico’s career-high came after an 0/11 showing on Saturday, and Curley was pleased with how he bounced back Tuesday. His 38 points came on 11/18 shooting from the field and 8/11 from three-point range.
“When we recruited him, we knew he was a scorer,” Curley said. “He’s demonstrated that since his sophomore year when he hit the [game-tying] shot against Babson [in the 2022 NEWMAC Semifinals]. He can score, so I wasn’t worried about that. It just shows you the type of kid that he is. … We’ve got to do a better job of finding him easier shots at that point.”
Arico credited the trust of his teammates and coaches as part of his mentality heading into Tuesday.
“The important thing to recognize is that the team and the coaches still believe in me after a tough game,” he said. “It’s been a heck of a week, but that’s basketball, and I’ve been doing this a long time. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s about getting your team together and winning the game.”
“On Saturday, I wasn’t even most disappointed about not making a shot,” he continued. “I was more disappointed that we couldn’t find a way—and I couldn’t help us find a way—to pull that out. But tonight, we get to go into the break off a win, which is important.”
He also echoed the importance of finishing games moving forward, emphasizing how the team will continue to work on their late-game execution in future practices.
Arico touched on the “extreme” importance of the non-conference games, not only because of prep for the NEWMAC but also for potential shots at the NCAA Tournament.
“They go to the record, [and] you never know with these at-large [tournament] bids,” he said. “We take it one game at a time. At this time last year, we weren’t in this position, so it goes to show our growth. But, we also know we’re not nearly the team that we know we can be by the end of the year. So, we’re just going to keep battling every day.”
The Lions will have an extended break before their next game, a Div. I exhibition contest against UMass-Lowell on Monday, Dec. 30, at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. It will be their second time facing a Div. I opponent, having lost to Ivy League champion Yale in early November.
“We’re hoping to use that to get the break off,” Curley said. “Just to kind of wake us up from our vacation. Hopefully, these guys are going to continue to work hard over break and keep the conditioning that we have. … Hopefully, Lowell will prepare us for league play and [the] second semester. It’s basically a sprint once we get back, so we’ve got to get back from there.”
Reflecting on previous Div. III vs. Div. I matchups in his career so far, Arico said, “We’ve had years where it’s really helped us. We’ve had other years where we wish we could’ve gone back and done better.”
“After Yale earlier this year, we felt like we could compete better against those types of schools,” he added. “Obviously, they’re a very good team, but we’re not going to look at the D3-D1. We’re going to go in there, play a lot of guys, and just try to get better.”
