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NORTON - Hank Smith and his Emerson College Lions pulled magic out of the hat.

Brian Walmsley and his Wheaton College Lyons had the basketball deflated on them.

Somehow, Emerson College won a basketball game it had no business winning and Wheaton College lost its season-opening contest Tuesday it had no business losing.

Former Mansfield High Hornet Drew Venter scored 13 of his 15 points during the second half as Emerson overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to prevail 64-60.

"They defended better and started getting to the basket," said Smith of his Boston-based crew which was shooting 2-for-23 from the floor, including 19 straight missed shots during the first half, but were only trailing by 13 (22-9). "Things didn't go our way the last four or five minutes," sighed Walmsley as the Lyons committed 22 turnovers overall (11 in each half), while shooting just 25 percent (6-for-24) during the second half. "They're a very good defensive team and we shot awful, plus we were turning the ball over."

Venter jump-started Emerson by scoring seven points, including a trifecta, in a spree of 14 unanswered points early in the second half that narrowed Wheaton's lead to 42-40.

But after Wheaton junior guard Brendan Degnan scored four straight points to give Wheaton a 53-47 advantage with just over seven minutes left, Emerson responded with eight straight points, tying the game at 53-all when senior guard Tom Messinger hit a three-point field goal.

Wheaton regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Degnan after an Emerson turnover at 57-55 with 3:26 to. But, Emerson responded once again, scoring seven straight points, sophomore guard Brett Smyth hitting a three-pointer to put his club on top 60-57 with 37 seconds remaining.

Following a five-second violation by Emerson, Wheaton sophomore forward Brian Johnson scored in the lane, closing the gap to 62-60 with 10.2 seconds to go. But, Emerson's Kabir Moss was fouled on the inbounds pass and sank two free throws for the final margin.

Venter totaled six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while shooting 6-for-10 from the floor for Emerson, while Messinger added 12 points and Moss 11 points and eight rebounds. Moreover, while Wheaton was struggling with its shooting, Emerson shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from the floor, hit 10 of 14 free throws and committed just 14 turnovers overall. "We played hard and we gained confidence as they went along," added Smith of Emerson overcoming its first half woes (8-for-26 shooting, a 19-9 rebounding disadvantage). "We got penetration, we got more open pull and kick than passing on the perimeter."

Senior guard Anthony Coppola paced Wheaton with 20 points, but he scored just two after intermission on 1-for-4 shooting. Johnson added 13 points and Degnan 11.

After Emerson gained a 4-2 lead within the first two minutes, Wheaton scored seven straight points to take the lead, but was unable to extend the margin due to turnovers. While Coppola hit four three-pointers for Wheaton, Emerson clawed back with Messinger hitting two of his team's five three-pointers. Wheaton recovered, outscoring Emerson 11-3 over the final two minutes.

Wheaton made just two shots from the floor in the first 10 minutes of the second half, Venter driving to the basket twice for buckets, Emerson cashing in on two three-pointers and four lay-ins for 14 straight points and a new game on the scoreboard.

Wheaton plays at Eastern Nazarene in Quincy on Saturday and doesn't play at home again until a Dec. 2 game at the Haas Athletic Center against Roger Williams.

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