WESTFIELD, Mass. – Jauch Green, Jr. (Cromwell HS/Hartford, Conn.) scored a career-high 37 points for Westfield State, but the Owls fell to Emmanuel College 89-88 in overtime at the Andy Yosinoff Court in Boston.
The game was a wild see-saw affair that saw both teams build and lose leads throughout the night.
The game ended with some controversy, as Green was fouled on a drive to the hoop with 0.7 seconds left in overtime, and the Owls trailing by two points. Green hit the first of two free throws. When the second shot came off the iron, it was fumbled out of bounds by a Saints player, and appeared to give the Owls possession with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. However, the officials ruled that the clock did not start properly following the miss and declared the game over.
Green, a transfer student who previoulsy played at Western Connecticut State, finished 10-15 shooting from the floor, 1-2 from three, and 10-15 at the line.
Westfield trailed 40-27 at the half. After taking a quick 9-3 lead at the outset, the Owls went cold from the floor for a long stretch in the middle of the first half. Emmanuel consistently worked the ball inside, and benefited from 8 offensive rebounds in the opening half.
The second half was a different story, as the Owls used full court pressure to climb back in the game. The Owls forced 13 Emmanuel turnovers within the first six minutes of play, which fueled a 20-0 Owls run that brought them from a 46-31 deficit to a 51-46 lead after a run-out layup from Green.
Late in regulation, Green connected on 1-2 free throws which tied the game at 74-all and ultimately forced the extra period.
In overtime, Emmitt Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play on a layup and free throw with 22 seconds left that gave the Saints an 88-87 lead. Emmanuel's Anthony Davidson was fouled on a drive with just over four seconds left in the OT and made 1-of-2 to push the lead to two points, at 89-87.
The Owls inbounded the ball to Green near midcourt, and he was fouled on the drive to set up the end game situation.
Westfield shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the game, but was just 1-11 on three pointers, the lone trey coming on Green's launch from downtown late in the overtime. The Owls connected on just 17 of 29 free throws (58.6 percent) for the game.
Marcus Collins (Rindge and Latin/Cambridge, Mass.) finished with 23 points for Westfield while shooting 10 of 16 from the floor. He also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out four assists.
Emmanuel was led 20 points from senior guard Joe Tamburro (Windsor, Conn.), and got 17 points and 16 rebounds from 6-4 sophomore forwards Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.). The Saints shot 44 percent from the floor, and out rebounded Westfield 50-31 on the night, including 21 offensive rebounds, and committed 25 turnovers as the Owls ratcheted up the pressure in the second half.
Westfield falls to 3-4 on the season. The Owls will be back in action on Saturday at local rival Elms College.
Emmanuel improved to 3-2 on the season.