Emmanuel Battles Until Very End in Overtime Loss in Semifinal Round of NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Southeast Regional
DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Seventh-seeded Emmanuel battled until the very end, but fell to sixth-seeded Lander, 86-78, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Southeast Regional.
The two teams entered the halftime break with Lander leading Emmanuel, 34-26. The second half would be much different with Emmanuel outscoring the Bearcats 39-31 in the half.
Lander led as many as 13 points in the second half before Emmanuel made its run to get back into the game. The Lions had a chance to win the game in regulation, but the shot just rimmed out to force overtime.
The extra frame was all Lander early on with the Bearcats going on a 10-0 run at one point in overtime to eventually advance to the regional championship game. Despite the early run in overtime by Lander, the Lions would not make it easy on the Bearcats during the final couple of minutes of overtime, pulling to within five with 26.2 seconds remaining. Lander would be able to hold on from there to advance.
Southeast Region Player of the Year KJ Jones II of Emmanuel led all in the contest with 28 points. He also had two assists, two rebounds and two steals. He was one of four in double figures for Emmanuel with Chris Dees finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block for Emmanuel, while Tavarus Webb had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal for the Lions. The final player in double figures for Emmanuel was Kendall Latney with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block.
Inady Legiste led Lander in its win with a double-double with a team-best 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
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