BOSTON, Mass. – The New England College men's basketball team lost momentum in the middle of the first half and was dominated from then on at Emmanuel College on Thursday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Massachusetts in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.  

THE BASICS 
Score: New England College 58, Emmanuel College 100  
Records: Pilgrims 4-20, 1-12 GNAC | Saints 12-12, 8-5 GNAC 

 
TURNING POINTS 

• Through the 5 minutes and 14 seconds into the game, NEC would start out with a competitive edge as they were lifted by a couple of three-pointers made by junior guard Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.) and sophomore guard Michael Hills (Baton Rouge, Lous.) to put the 'Grims up 15-11. Williams would end the half with 10 points. 
• From then on, Emmanuel showed that they had the home court advantage as they burst out on a ginormous 41-15 run which was led by a highly efficient shooting clinic from sophomore guard Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) who put the Saints up 52-30 behind his 21 points including a hot 5-7 from the arc. 
• With comeback chances looming slim, the 'Grims emptied their bench immediately in the second half to get some quality reps in. Sophomore guard Kyle Dzarnowski (Boca Raton, Fla.) contributed eight points including two makes from three to stand out amongst the platoons. 
• The Saint had grown the lead substantially, allowing them to hit the century mark to win the conference matchup 100-58 with a balanced scoring effort in the second half for Emmanuel. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Dzarnowski and Williams lead all scorers for NEC in the loss with 10 a-piece including five rebounds from the latter. 
• Emmanuel's Baines was the catalyst in the much-needed win as he finished with 24 points on 8/14 shooting from the field. Senior guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) ended up with 15 points, 10 massive rebounds, and six assists to compliment Pope's performance. 
• The Saints dominated the passing game with a 28-7 upper hand. 
• It was a little more competitive on the boards as Emmanuel had a 50-41 advantage. 
• The 'Grims would finish the game with 27.4/25/71.4% splits compared to the Saints' 47.4/44.8/75% splits. 

UP NEXT 

• Up next for NEC, the team will round out their season as they travel to Albertus Magnus College to take on the Falcons at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center on Saturday, February 17th at 3:00 PM. 
• Emmanuel will conclude regular season play on Saturday, February 17th where they will face the AMCATS of Anna Maria College at the Fuller Activities Center with tipoff set for 2:00 PM. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.