Seventh-seeded Emmanuel College jumped out to a 22-point lead early in the second half and then turned back a late rally by No. 2-seed Auburn University Montgomery to advance in SSAC (Southern States Athletic Conference) Men’s Basketball Tournament with an 81-71 upset.

SSAC Freshman of the Year Tedrick Hudson poured in 17 points in the first half and helped the Lions gain a 39-21 lead by halftime. The AUM defense got much tougher in the second half and held Hudson to just two points. He fouled out with some six minutes remaining and finished with 19 markers.

The Lions won the free-throw shooting contest in the final minutes as the Senators cut the large lead to just two points with some three minutes remaining. Emmanuel marched to the line 43 times and converted 29 (67 percent). On the other hand, the Senators were rewarded with 23 charity tosses and canned 15.

Four Lions tallied in double figures. With Hudson leading the way, Ray Raines joined in with 11. Jeremy Tate and Shawn Courtney pitched in with 10 points each and Micah Hayes marched to the stripe 10 times and converted eight for his eight total points. Raines added 10 rebounds to complete his double-double.

For the Senators, Kip Small tried to bring his club back with 18 points in the second half. He finished the battle with 20 points and nine rebounds. Nathan Thomas garnered 13 points and nine boards before leaving the game with five fouls. Ronnie Hickman finished with 10 scores.

AUM won the rebounding struggle, 41-40. Emmanuel shot 44 percent from the field and made good on 6-of-12 treys (50 percent). The Senators shots only 37 percent from the field and just 27 percent from behind the arc. The Lions were guilty of 14 turnovers and the Senators had 13 floor mistakes.

Emmanuel will return to action on Friday and will test the winner of Faulkner University and Southern Polytechnic State at 3:15.

Please visit the EC Athletics web site at www.ec.edu/athletics for a complete list of news releases and team schedules.

Posted by George Starr