Lincoln University, PA - Saint Joseph's withstood a final rally from Newbury (MA) as the Monks (19-7) held on for a win over the Nighthawks and will face Lincoln University in the men's basketball championship game at 3:00 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 25. Tournament host Lincoln University defeated Mitchell College (CT) 116-82 in the second game last night.

Noah LaRoche hit the game-winning layup with just three seconds left for Saint Joseph's. Steven Morris' desperation three-point was short for Newbury.

The Monks had a 10-point lead at 61-51 with 5:35 left before Newbury went on an 11-0 run to go up 62-61 with 2:17 left on a pair of foul shots from Marcal Matthews. Matthews was intentionally fouled, which would have given the Nighthawks two shots plus possession. However, Newbury was whistled for a technical foul, which gave St. Joe's the ball back.

LaRoche converted one of two foul shots to tie the score back up at 62-all. The Monks took a 64-62 lead on a layup by Mitch Ouellet with 1:35 left, before Morris hit one foul shot to cut the Monk lead to one with 1:19 left.

Newbury took its final lead of the game with 24 seconds left, when Walky Magloire hit a layup. Magloire led all scorers with 20 points.

In the first half, it was all Saint Joseph's, as the Monks took as much as an 18-point lead, 34-16, on a three-pointer by Chad Pulkkinen. Newbury would get as close as 10 before halftime, but the Monks went into the break with a 36-26 halftime lead.

In the second half, St. Joseph's continued the double-digit lead until Newbury's final rally.

For the Monks, Matt Plummer finished with a team-high 18 points, while Marcus Alexander added 17 and also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

For the Nighthawks, Arch Mitchell finished with 13 points, while Morris had 12. Sonny Abraham had eight rebounds. St. Joseph's overcame 26 turnovers on the evening.