STANDISH, ME - Albertus Magnus (10-4, 6-1 GNAC) erased a nine-point halftime deficit and outscored Saint Joseph's (10-3, 5-2 GNAC) by 21 points in the second stanza to roll to a 78-66 victory in a key GNAC Men's Basketball matchup at the Harold Alfond Center on Monday evening. Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) paced four Monks in double digits with a double-double effort of 15 points and 12 boards in the loss.

Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) and Rashon Jones '11 (Bridgeport, CT) both netted 12 point for St. Joe's and Anthony Savino '11 (Portland, ME/Cheverus) recorded 11 points, 9 in the first half.

Sophomore forward Ray Askew (New Haven, CT) led all players with 30 points and 17 rebounds for the Falcons, while freshman forward Jefferson Lora (Bronx, NY) also tallied a double-dip with 14 points and 10 caroms in the triumph. Byron Reaves '12 (Hamden, CT) added 14 points for Albertus Magnus, which was previously 0-5 against Saint Joseph's, including a season-ending 75-64 loss last year in the GNAC semifinal round.

The Monks shot well in the first half, converting 50% (15-30) of their bids from the field en route to a 39-30 halftime break, but the second half featured a dismal shooting performance by the Royal Blue. Collectively, St. Joe's shot 33.3% (12-36) overall, and just 1-10 from beyond the arc, in the latter stanza. The Falcons, who shot 37.9% (11-29) in the opening period, heated up in the second with a 56.7% (17-30) performance and made 13 free throws on their way to victory.

The opening 10 minutes of the contest was tightly contested, but the Monks seemed to hit their stride with an 8-0 surge, which began with a Tom Ray '12 (Cape Elizabeth, ME) bucket, off a nifty pass from Eatmon, at the 11:16 mark and was closed out with a Petzy jumper with 7:56 to play in the first half. St. Joe's held a 20-12 lead after the outburst.

The Monks seemed to take control in the closing minutes of the half and built a 39-27 lead off a 10-3 run, with Petzy netting 6 points, but a three-pointer with three seconds on the clock by Falcons guard Sean Bertanza '13 (Seymour, CT) cut the SJC lead to 9 heading into the break.

Jones opened the second half for the Monks with a two-pointer 58 seconds in to increase the SJC lead to 11, but a 2-10 effort from the floor in the ensuing five minutes allowed Albertus Magnus to keep the game within reach.

At the 14:44 mark, a dunk by Askew off an alley-oop pass from Arshad Jackson '13 (Hartford, CT) cut the Monks' lead to three points, but Eatmon hit a shot to make it a 47-42 game 20 seconds later. The Falcons proceeded to go on an 11-4 run over the next four minutes, with the closing basket, a jumper by Askew at the 10:18 mark, providing the visitors with their first lead, 53-51, in nearly 24 minutes of play.

Albertus increased its lead to six points with two quick hoops, but buckets from Jones and Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) diminished the Falcons' advantage back to two, 57-55, with 7:43 remaining.

Albertus Magnus proceeded to change the complexion of the game for good with a 10-1 outburst over the next four minutes and led 67-56 after Askew, who netted 6 points during the run, converted a layup with 3:23 to go. The Falcons maintained a two-figure lead for the final three minutes of play.

St. Joe's shot 40.9% (27-66) overall, 17.6% (3-17) from three-point distance, and 64.3% (9-14) from the line, while Albertus Magnus shot 47.5% (28-59) from the field, 30.8% (4-13) from beyond the arc and 64.3% (18-28) from the line. The Falcons held a 42-36 advantage on the boards and the Monks registered 21 assists on 27 field goals. The field goal and three-point percentages both rank as season-lows for the Royal Blue.

Saint Joseph's will play at Bates College on Wednesday at 7:30 PM while Albertus will host GNAC-rival Suffolk University on Saturday at 3:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
Albertus Magnus vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
01/18/10 7:00 PM at Alfond Center, Standish, Maine
At Alfond Center, Standish, Maine
ALBERTUS MAGNUS 78, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 66
ALBERTUS MAGNUS (10-4, 6-1 GNAC)
Ray Askew 11-17 8-10 30; Jefferson Lora 4-10 6-7 14; Byron Reaves 5-6 2-4
13; Sean Bertanza 2-3 0-0 6; Alex Muniz 2-5 1-3 5; Arshad Jackson 1-3 0-0 3;
Walden St. Juste 1-9 1-2 3; James Economopoulos 1-1 0-0 2; Sha'Ron Young 1-5
0-0 2; Mike Sweeney 0-0 0-0 0; David Armstrong 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 28-59 18-28
78.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (10-3, 5-2 GNAC)
Ray Eatmon 7-11 1-3 15; Rashon Jones 4-10 3-4 12; Chris Petzy 5-15 1-1 12;
Anthony Savino 4-8 3-4 11; Tyler Kelley 3-7 1-2 8; Zach O'Brien 3-14 0-0 6;
Tom Ray 1-1 0-0 2; Julio Vazquez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-66 9-14 66.
Albertus Magnus...............   30   48  -   78
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   39   27  -   66
3-point goals--Albertus Magnus 4-13 (Sean Bertanza 2-3; Arshad Jackson 1-2;
Byron Reaves 1-2; Walden St. Juste 0-4; Ray Askew 0-2), St. Joseph's (Me.)
3-17 (Tyler Kelley 1-4; Chris Petzy 1-7; Rashon Jones 1-3; Zach O'Brien
0-3). Fouled out--Albertus Magnus-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None.
Rebounds--Albertus Magnus 42 (Ray Askew 17), St. Joseph's (Me.) 36 (Ray
Eatmon 12). Assists--Albertus Magnus 17 (Byron Reaves 4; Alex Muniz 4), St.
Joseph's (Me.) 21 (Ray Eatmon 6). Total fouls--Albertus Magnus 10, St.
Joseph's (Me.) 19. Technical fouls--Albertus Magnus-None, St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None. A-245