BOSTON, MA - The Monks trailed GNAC foe Emmanuel, 49-36, at halftime but diminished the Saints' lead to 3 points with 6 minutes remaining in the second half. St. Joe's could not sustain the the rally bid, however, and lost by seven points, 78-71. JR Elbie Murphy (Loudonville, NY) notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards in the loss. Emmanuel is now 7-1 in GNAC play and 9-5 overall while the Monks fall to 5-3 in GNAC contests and 7-6 overall.

The Saints mounted a 13 point lead in the opening half behind a strong performance from junior Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY), who scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards in the first half. The Monks were led in the half by FY Eric Friend (Portland, ME) with 8 points.

St. Joe's chipped away at the Saints lead in the second half and came within three points , 62-59, when FY Tyler Kelley (Saco, ME) nailed a 3-pointer to cap a Monks 13-2 run with seven minutes remaining in the game. JR Scot Vachon (Schenectady, NY) added two layups for 4 points during the run.

The Saints countered with a 9-2 run of their own highlighted by a 5-6 free throw shooting performance in the following three minutes to extend the Emmanuel lead to 10 with 3 minutes on the clock.

Murphy made both free throw attempts with 1:45 left in the game to bring the Monks deficit to 5 points, 73-68, and make it a two-possession game for the Royal Blue. The Saints made 5 of 7 shots from the charity stripe in the final minute of the game to keep the Monks at bay and take the victory, 78-71.

For the Monks, Friend tallied 12 points and was an efficient 4-6 from the floor. Vachon dished out a game-high seven assists and added 6 points and SO Alberto Rue (Jamaica Plain, MA) netted 9 points and grabbed 6 boards. JR Bobby Russo (Hartsdale, NY) provided a long-range spark off the bench as he made 2 of 3 three-point shots for six points. SO Alonso Davis (Richmond, VA) grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and added 8 points and FY Chris Davis (New York, NY) came off the bench to notch 5 points and 7 rebounds in just 6 minutes of play. The Monks out-rebounded the Saints 56-48 in the game.

Junior forward Mack Spellman (Clinton, NY) netted a game-high 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Saints. Junior guard Rob Williams-Hinton (Oak Park, MD) added 15 points and freshman point guard J.P. Ventura (Riva, MD) chipped in with 12 points and 5 assists.

The Monks will host in-state rival Southern Maine on Thursday, 1/24 at 7:00 PM.


Saint Joseph's (ME) vs Emmanuel College
1/21/08 3pm at Jean Yawkey Center - Boston, MA

EMMANUEL COLLEGE 78, SAINT JOSEPH'S (ME) 71

SAINT JOSEPH'S (ME) (7-6, 5-3 GNAC)
Elbie Murphy 5-23 6-12 16; Eric Friend 4-6 4-6 12; Alberto Rue 3-12 2-2 9;
Alonso Davis 4-7 0-0 8; Scot Vachon 2-7 2-4 6; Bobby Russo 2-3 0-0 6; Chris
Davis 2-5 1-1 5; Tyler Kelley 1-5 2-2 5; Mitch Ouellet 0-1 4-4 4; Anthony
Savino 0-0 0-0 0; T.J. Tandberg 0-2 0-0 0; R.J. Mattison 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
23-72 21-31 71.

EMMANUEL COLLEGE (9-5, 7-1 GNAC)
Mack Spellman 9-19 2-3 21; Rob Williams-Hinton 6-14 1-2 15; J.P. Ventura 2-5
6-6 12; Andres Bustamante 4-4 0-0 9; Levi Smith 2-6 4-5 8; Torrey Joyner 3-4
0-0 7; Chris Puzacke 1-5 2-6 4; Mike Jackson 0-6 1-2 1; Tyrone Buchanan 0-4
1-2 1; Tony Carter-Hill 0-1 0-0 0; Zach Luster 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-70 17-26
78.

Saint Joseph's (ME)........... 36 35 - 71
Emmanuel College.............. 49 29 - 78

3-point goals-
Saint Joseph's (ME) 4-18 (Bobby Russo 2-3; Tyler Kelley 1-2;
Alberto Rue 1-4; Chris Davis 0-1; Eric Friend 0-1; Elbie Murphy 0-7)

Emmanuel College 7-22 (J.P. Ventura 2-3; Rob Williams-Hinton 2-8; Andres
Bustamante 1-1; Torrey Joyner 1-2; Mack Spellman 1-4; Mike Jackson 0-3; Levi
Smith 0-1)

Fouled out-
Saint Joseph's (ME)-None
Emmanuel College-Levi Smith

Rebounds-
Saint Joseph's (ME) 56 (Alonso Davis 12)
Emmanuel College 48 (Mack Spellman 15)

Assists-
Saint Joseph's (ME) 13 (Scot Vachon 7)
Emmanuel College 21 (Rob Williams-Hinton 6)

Total fouls-
Saint Joseph's (ME)
19, Emmanuel College 20

A-200