The 2007-08 Monks basketball team was faced with high expectations after the 06-07 squad set the bar with a 22-8 record, the program's first-ever Division III Northeast Regional Independent Championship and a runner-up finish in the ECAC New England Tournament. For the 07-08 team, the lofty expectations came with uncertainty.

The Monks lost six seniors from the 22-8 team to graduation last May, including offensive stalwarts Chad Pulkkinen (16.8 ppg) and Marcus Alexander (11.9 ppg). The 07-08 roster included no seniors, six juniors, four sophomores, five freshman and two returning starters in Elbie Murphy and Scot Vachon.

The talented junior class was faced with the unfamiliar task of leading a young team in a new conference. After five seasons of playing as an NCAA Division III Independent, the Monks were primed and ready for the team's first season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). Although fifth-year head coach Rob Sanicola and his seasoned staff certainly had the team prepared for conference play, the fact remained that the league was comprised of ten other teams, eight of which the Monks had never faced on the hardcourt.

Coach Sanicola completed his fifth season at the helm with a 14-13 overall record and guided his team to an 11-7 tilt in GNAC play in 2007-08. The Monks earned the #5 seed in the conference tournament and defeated #4 Johnson and Wales University on their home court in a GNAC quarterfinal game for the program's first GNAC playoff win. The Monks would see their season come to an end in a hard-fought loss at the hands of #1 seed Emerson College, 79-75, in the semifinal game.

The Monks kicked off the season with a trio of contests against in-state rivals. The Royal Blue suffered a pair of losses on the road, including a tough 64-61 loss to the University of Maine-Farmington on opening night. After losing to Bowdoin College a week later to fall to 0-2, the Monks were ready get on track by playing the University of New England in front of the home crowd at "The Lake." St. Joe's received double-digit point totals from four players that night, including a team-high 16 from freshman Chris Davis, to secure a 76-66 victory over the Nor'easters.

On December 1st, the Monks traveled to Newton, MA to play Lasell College in the team's first GNAC contest. The offensive-minded Lasers defeated St. Joe's as five players reached double-digits in points, but the Royal Blue showed signs of promise as rookie Chris Davis led the Monks with 21 points and Elbie Murphy, recovering from a knee injury, added 15.

St. Joe's, still searching for the team's identity, hosted Husson College four days later and lost, 81-68. Murphy paced the Monks with 20 points and sophomore Ray Eatmon netted 16 in the losing effort.

The loss to rival Husson College seemed to spark the Royal Blue, as the squad went on to record five consecutive victories, including four in-conference wins and a thrilling triumph over NESCAC opponent Colby College.

The Monks started the streak by defeating Daniel Webster College 112-102 on December 8th at "The Lake" to record the program's first GNAC victory. Leading the offensive charge was Ray Eatmon, who posted a double-double with 17 points and 21 rebounds, one board shy of tying the all-time single game mark held by Bryan Rubenskas (22 boards vs. Bryant, 12/13/86). The win capped the first semester with the Monks holding a 2-4 record.

The Royal Blue opened the 2008 segment of their schedule with a thrilling, last-second win over Colby College on January 3rd. Freshman Eric Friend took an inbounds pass and heaved a 60 foot shot into the basket as time expired to give the Monks an 85-83 victory. Friend and Murphy both scored 20 points in the game.

The Monks would see their record improve to 4-4 with an 86-82 overtime victory over GNAC foe Norwich University in Northfield, VT. Murphy scored a season-high 30 points to lead all scorers and Eatmon recorded his third consecutive double-double with 22 points and 14 boards.

The Monks went on to defeat a pair of GNAC rivals, Albertus Magnus College and Suffolk University, by a total of 42 points to cap the five-game winning streak and improve the team's record to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in GNAC play.
On January 17th Lasell College defeated the Monks 82-73 in Standish in GNAC action and fell to 4-2 in league play. The Monks rebounded in a big way by saddling the Mount Ida College Mustangs with a 102-50 defeat at "The Lake" in their next game. Twelve different SJC players scored in the conference win and Alonso Davis led with a career-high 26 points.

St. Joe's suffered consecutive setbacks to GNAC opponent Emmanuel College and in-state rival Southern Maine before finding the win column with an 85-71 triumph over Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. Elbie Murphy became the 29th player in Monks Basketball history to reach the 1,000 point plateau in the victory and led all scorers with 30 points.

After the Royal Blue lost their final non-conference game of the season to Bates College on January 29th, the Monks closed out the season with nine pivotal conference contests. St. Joe's seemed unable to find a groove during the stretch, as the team posted a respectable 5-4 record against a slate of formidable GNAC teams but couldn't manage to string the wins together.

The stretch began with a home game against Rivier College on January 31st. The Monks, in front of an SJC crowd feverishly shaking boxes of macaroni for the promotional "Mac ‘n Cheese Night," defeated the GNAC rival Raiders in exciting fashion, 76-75, as Scot Vachon made a layup in the final seconds to secure the win.

Emerson College defeated St. Joe's, 80-70, in a battle of third-place teams on February 2nd to drop the Monks' record to 9-9 overall and 7-4 in GNAC play. The Royal Blue responded in their next game with an 84-71 victory over Suffolk as Chris Davis paced all scorers with his career-high 25 points.

Johnson and Wales overcame a 49-40 deficit to defeat the Monks 98-92 in overtime on February 9th at "The Lake." St. Joe's fell to 10-10 overall and 8-5 in GNAC contests with the loss as Murphy netted 30 points and Eatmon recorded a double-double with 18 points and 16 boards in the losing bid.

Three days later, the Monks traveled to Nashua, NH to take on the feisty Daniel Webster College Eagles. Eatmon scored 18 points and sophomore Alberto Rue netted 15 in a balanced SJC attack that helped the Royal Blue secure an 89-78 victory.

On February 16th Norwich University made their first-ever trip to "The Lake" and defeated the Monks in tight conference contest, 76-73. Eatmon registered his seventh double-double of the season with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds and Rue chipped in with a 6-9 effort from beyond the arc for 18 points. With the loss, St. Joe's fell to 11-11 overall and 9-6 in GNAC contests.

The Monks traveled to Newton, MA to face off against GNAC foe Mount Ida College on February 19th and returned home with a 79-70 victory. Rue connected on 6 of 8 three-point shots and scored a career and game-high 19 points in the triumph.

On February 21st the Monks lost 77-66 to Rivier College in Nashua, NH to yet again fall to .500 overall (12-12). The in-conference loss dropped the Royal Blue to 10-7 in league play. Rue led St. Joe's with 18 points, all in the second half, and was the only SJC player to score more than nine points.

The Monks hosted top-ranked Emmanuel College in the final regular season conference game for both teams on February 23rd. The Saints squandered an 18-point lead with 10 minutes in the first half and the Monks outscored Emmanuel 37-28 in the second stanza, including a game-clinching lay-up by Scot Vachon with 3.2 seconds remaining, to earn a 69-68 victory. Alberto Rue led the team in scoring, for the third consecutive game, with 14 points and Chris Davis chipped in with a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards in the thrilling victory. With the win, the Monks capped the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and an 11-7 GNAC record, good for the fifth seed in the conference playoffs.

On February 26th, the Monks traveled to Providence, RI to play Johnson and Wales in a GNAC quarterfinal contest. The Royal Blue defeated the Wildcats, 71-68, in a hard-fought game to record the team's first GNAC postseason win. Murphy scored 19 points to lead the Monks and Eatmon added 11 points in the must-win game.

With the quarterfinal win over Johnson and Wales, St. Joe's advanced to the semifinal round to play #1 seed Emerson College on their home court in Boston. The Monks shot 50.8% from the floor, but the sharp-shooting Lions made 60% of their shots and 18 of 20 free-throw attempts to secure a 79-75 victory. Murphy and Rue each scored 14 points to lead five SJC players who netted 10 or more points.

With the loss, the Monks concluded a successful 2007-08 season with a 14-13 overall record and an 11-7 conference record. In the first season as a league member, the Royal Blue proved they belong in the upper echelon of the GNAC with some key victories and strong play during the final weeks of the season.

After the conclusion of the season, junior Elbie Murphy was named to the GNAC All-Conference Second Team and the MMBCWA All-State First Team, sophomore Ray Eatmon received Third Team honors and sophomore Alberto Rue was listed on the GNAC All-Tournament Team.

Murphy averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game to lead the Monks and his 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game both ranked second on the team. The junior forward also set the GNAC single-season record for steals (57) and steals per game (3.17) in 2007-08 and ranked 10th in all of NCAA Division III in steals per game.

Eatmon led the Monks with 8.4 rebounds per game and was second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per contest. Eatmon ranked fifth overall in the conference in rebounds per game and was the third most efficient shooter in the conference with a .580 (116-200) field goal percentage.

Rue emerged as the Monks' top long-range threat last year, making 55 of 116 three-point shots for a 47.4% success rate to break the St. Joe's single-season three-point shooting percentage record. Rue's long distance shooting percentage ranked 3rd in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and his 55 three-pointers made ranked 4th in the league. Overall, Rue ranked third on the team with 11.6 points per game.

Look for the 2008-09 Monks to take the next step in solidifying their position as a top program in New England. With a talented class of incoming recruits and last year's roster returning intact, the Monks appear poised to make a run at the GNAC Championship in just their second year in the conference.