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.