Boston, Mass. – January 22, 2026 – The Springfield College men's basketball team completed its first round of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play with an 89-73 victory at Emerson College on Thursday evening.

Springfield improved to 6-11 overall and to 4-4 in NEWMAC play, while Emerson dropped to 7-10, 3-5. Springfield posted its best record through the first half of conference play since head coach Michael McClendon took over the program and will look to make its second straight trip to the conference playoffs in a few short weeks.

Springfield's victory marked the first time that the Pride defeated the Lions inside Brown & Plofker Gymnasium since January of 2018 and just the third over Emerson in the all-time series over the past 14 meetings. Springfield also produced a season-high 89 points this evening – the most the Pride have scored in a game since February 12 of last season against Coast Guard.

It was a balanced offensive effort for Springfield tonight with five student-athletes reaching double-digit point totals highlighted by a 19 point performance from Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Hartley shot 8-for-11 from the floor and added five rebounds and a block in 22 minutes tonight. John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.)tallied 17 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) added 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, Hunter Matteson (Dartmouth, Mass.) recorded 12 points, and a team-best seven rebounds and Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) notched ten points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

As a team, Springfield shot at a 50.7-percent clip from the floor and sank a season-high 34 field goals. The Pride shot 50-percent or better for the third time this year all coming in NEWMAC games. Springfield held a 37-36 edge on the glass, scored 42 of its 89 points in the paint and turned 16 Emerson turnovers into 27 points. 

A three by Jacob Armant early in the first gave Emerson a 12-9 edge and ultimately ignited a 14-3 run that pushed the host Lions in front 23-12 with 11:31 to play in the opening half. From that point on – over the last 11:31 before the break – Springfield outscored Emerson 29-7 and took a 41-30 lead into halftime. The impressive run saw Springfield 14 consecutive points in just under five minutes and drill four shots from behind the arc over the complete outburst of offense. Springfield shot 11-for-21 over the stretch with Evely leading the charge with eight points as he buried a pair of long range shots off feeds from both Rashard Samuels (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Paulino.

Emerson was able to pull within four points at 52-48 with 12:31 remaining in regulation as Hank Gramlich capped a brief 12-5 spurt for the Lions. Springfield responded with a 14-6 run of its own highlighted by four points from both Livingston and Sean Harrigan (Pittsfield, Mass.) to re-up the lead to 12 at 66-54. Springfield's lead never fell below double figures from that point on and Emerson never got closer than 11 en route to the 89-73 final in Boston.

Springfield will open its second round of NEWMAC contests with a home game against Wheaton College on Saturday at 3:30 pm. In the first meeting between the two sides, Wheaton defeated the Pride, 78-64, in Norton.

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