Men’s Basketball Downed by Thomas, 87-81

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team dropped an 87-81 decision to Thomas Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 81, Thomas (ME) 87
Records: Lions (5-12, 2-7 NAC) | Terriers (6-9, 3-2 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Thomas got off to a strong start to the game, constructing a 26-point advantage with 8:24 remaining in the first frame.
• The guests owed a 44-22 lead at the halftime intermission.
• Eastern Nazarene chipped away at the deficit throughout the second stanza and trimmed the gap to 80-74 with less than a minute left to play as Joey Hanlon (Pembroke, Mass.) and Fahad Tarjali (Amman, Jordan) both converted two free throws.  
• The Lions pulled to within four as JT Rosier (Miami, Fla.) splashed a trey with five seconds to go.
• Thomas responded with two free throws by Parker Desjardins in the final seconds to seal its first-ever win over Eastern Nazarene.
  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:        

• JT Rosier (Miami, Fla.) scored a team-high 14 points off the bench to go with three assists.
• Fahad Tarjali (Amman, Jordan) netted a season-best 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Joey Hanlon (Pembroke, Mass.) tallied 12 points while Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) posted 12 points and five assists.
• Sammuel Prosper (Hyde Park, Mass.) finished with 10 points and nine boards off the bench.
• Eastern Nazarene shot 44.1% from the floor and 32.4% from three-point territory.
• Thomas concluded the contest with a field-goal percentage of 47.4% while drilling 9-of-23 from beyond the arc.
• Metin Yavuz paced the visitors with 17 points and seven rebounds while Cooper Wirkala posted 15 points and Parker Desjardins added 14 points.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene hosts Lesley January 16 in a non-league tilt.