WESTFIELD, Mass. – Emmitt Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) finished with 19 points to lead Emmanuel College, as the Saints pulled away from Westfield State in th second half for a 77-68 win in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Woodward Center.
The two teams battled through a see-saw first half, that saw the Owls sprint to an early 7-0 lead, and then the Saints grabbed a seven-point lead of their own on several occasions before the two clubs headed to the break tied at 37-all.
Emmanuel led 50-49 after Westfield's Joe Meade (Westfield, Mass.) scored on a pick and roll dunk off a feed from Malik Pouncy (Mattapan, Mass./Spfld. Comonwealth Academy) with 13 minutes left, but from that point the Saints grinded away with a 17-4 run over the next seven minutes, led by a pair of three pointers and a pair of free throws from Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn./St. Joseph), that extended the Saints lead to 67-53 with 6:15 left to play.
Moulder and Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) each added 17 points for the Saints.
Vawn Lord (Amherst, Mass./West Springfield HS) led Westfield with 17 points, while Pouncy added 12 on 5-12 shooting from the floor.
Statistical categories were mostly even, but the Saints capitalized on hitting 20-28 free throws in the game, while the Owls were just 9-18 at the foul line.
Westfield State is back in action tomorrow with a game at Mitchell College.