BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.) drilled a deep three at the buzzer to lift the Emmanuel College men's basketball team over Curry College, 74-73, in a thriller on Andy Yosinoff Court. The victory was The Saints' first of the young season moving them to a record of 1-2, while the Colonels fall to 0-3.
Emmanuel rushed out of the gates with a 5-0 run led by an earlier three-pointer by Tamburro. The Saints maintained the lead for the opening nine minutes of play until James Pina (Warwick, R.I.) hit a layup to give the Colonels a 15-14 edge. The game went back and forth until the Saints went on a 10-0 run that gave them a 26-19 lead until 4:43 remaining in the first half. Curry guard Matt McCune (Somerville, Mass.) hit a big three-pointer in at the two-minute mark to narrow the Saints lead to one. The half would close out with the Saints hanging on to a 35-34 lead.
Pina led all players in the first half with 13 points going 5-for-9 from the field and adding three from the charity stripe. Tamburro led the Saints in scoring with 10 points including two three pointers made.
Curry took the lead early in the second half and was able to maintain the edge until 11 minutes remaining when senior Aidan Hadley (Owls Head, Maine) made a free throw to give the Saints a 51-50 lead. After several quick lead changes the intensity of the game heightened leading to a double-technical on both sides.
Freshman guard Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) got fouled on a strong drive to the hoop and made both free throws to tie the game at 59 with seven minutes remaining in regulation. The lead did not last long as the teams continued to trade baskets leaving Emmanuel down by one with 4:04.
Down by one, Colonels captain Paul Preziosi (Quincy, Mass.) buried a big three with the shot clock expiring to put his team up 67-65. Curry's lead would extend to four after a lay-up by Jaelen George-Bellitti (Cambridge, Mass.), before the Saints Alex Minetti (Wakefield R.I.) hit a big three to cut the deficit to one. The Colonels scored on the next possession to give them a three-point lead before Minetti scored another three to tie the game at 71-71 with 32 seconds on the clock. All squared with the clock winding down, Pina hit a big jumper with seven seconds left in regulation to put the Colonels up 73-71.
After advancing the ball to their side of the court, Saints Head Coach Jamahl Jackson took their final time-out to draw up the last play of the game. The ball was worked around the perimeter until it ended up in the hands of Tamburro who drilled a long range triple as the clock expired to propel the Saints to their first victory of the season.
Tamburro led the game with a season-high 26 points while Reddick and Minetti added 13 and 12, respectively. Junior Guard Colin Cordero (Bolton, Conn.) led the Saints with seven assists.
Pina led his team in scoring with 20 points also adding eight rebounds. Preziosi filled the stat sheet for the Colonels contributing 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Saints are back in action Tuesday, November 29 at 5:30 p.m. as they host conference opponent Mount Ida. The Colonels will host the Pilgrims of New England College on Monday, November 28 at 6 p.m.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information)
