Men's Basketball Falls to Emerson, 104-80

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- For the third straight season the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team lost to Emerson College.

The Lions led from start to finish and handed the Bears a 104-80 loss Wednesday night at the Tinsley Center.

BSU, which now has 17 days off before playing again, is off to a 1-8 start and is on its second four-game losing streak of the season.

Emerson, which has won four of six games over the Bears since 2017, improved to 5-3 after shooting 62 percent from the floor and 48 percent from 3-point range.

BSU had five players in double figures, led by junior Samuel Omisore (Boston, Mass.) with 14 points plus four rebounds.

Freshman Jayden Florestal (Foxborough, Mass.) had 13 points off the bench, making 7 of 9 foul shots, and had three rebounds and two steals.

Senior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) scored 11 points, hitting three 3-pointers, and blocked a pair of shots.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) and freshman Jake Olmstead (Franklin, Mass.) each scored 10 points with Taylor adding four rebounds and three assists.

Emerson had a balanced attack with three starters and three reserves hitting double figures.

Senior Linus Helmhold (Krefeld, Germany) scored 12 points and had four rebounds and three assists.

Graduate student Otto Luessenhop (Amagansett, N.Y.) and junior BJ McNeil (Bowie, Md.) each had 11 points, combining to shoot 9-for-12.

Three players had 10 points each, including starter Jacob Armant (Arlington, Texas), a senior who had five rebounds and four assists, graduate student Asher Gardiner (Chirstchurch, New Zealand), who had 4-for-4, and junior Shay Roban (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.).

Emerson had a 40-29 advantage in rebounds, turned the ball over just eight times and outscored Bridgewater in the paint by a healthy margin of 52-22.

The Lions held a 57-32 lead at halftime, making 59 percent of their shots while limiting the Bears to 32 percent.

Emerson had a double-digit lead just 4:34 into the game at 16-5 as five different players scored.

The last time BSU had the deficit under 10 points was at 16-8 when junior Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.) made a 3-pointer with 15:09 left in the half.

Emerson responded by going on a 32-6 run over a span of 9:42, and the lead ballooned to 48-14 with 5:15 to go in the half.

BSU missed 12 of 14 shots during that time and struggled at the defensive end to stop Emerson.

Bridgewater trailed at halftime, 57-32, and Emerson didn't have anyone scoring in double figures in the first 20 minutes.

The Lions' largest lead of the game was with 11:47 to play as a layup by Roban left BSU trailing, 83-45.

Emerson, coached by former Boston College standout and ex-NBA player Bill Curley, reached 100 points with 1:57 left.

The Lions are the fifth team to score at least 100 points against BSU this season.

The Bears are allowing 99.2 points per game.

BSU next plays on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, Nev., when it takes part in the D3hoops.com Classic.

The Bears will face Whittier College at 7 p.m., then go against Central College on Dec. 30 at 9 p.m.

Emerson is traveling to California to play a pair of games, the first one on Dec. 28 against California Lutheran University.