STANDISH, ME – The 2013-14 Saint Joseph's College men's basketball schedule has been announced. The Monks are slated to play the full 25-game allotment with 18 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests and seven non-league tilts this winter.
Led by 11th-year Head Coach Rob Sanicola, Saint Joseph's will host 11 games at the Harold Alfond Center and play 14 on the road, with the latter portion of the docket being highlighted with a trip to Washington, D.C. to play in the Catholic University Holiday Inn College Park Classic Tournament in early January.
Non-conference foes include the likes of Bates College, Husson University, Bowdoin College, University of Maine-Farmington and University of Southern Maine. The schedule for the aforementioned tourney has yet to be released.
The Monks will host Husson, Southern Maine, Johnson & Wales University, Mount Ida College, Lasell College, Norwich University, Emmanuel College, Albertus Magnus College, Rivier University, Suffolk University and Anna Maria College this winter. With 10 teams in the GNAC – Emerson College joined the NEWMAC - all programs will face each other twice in a balanced schedule moving forward.
Overall, Saint Joseph's owns a collective 214-151 (.586) all-time record versus the group of 2013 opponents. These 16 programs combined to post a 185-188 (.496) record last season while two teams – Albertus Magnus and Husson – advanced to the NCAA Tournament and three others – Anna Maria, Southern Maine and Johnson & Wales – appeared in the ECAC New England Tournament last year.
The Monks open the season with five non-conference contests versus in-state rivals. The 2013-14 campaign begins on November 19th when the team travels to Lewiston to play Bates College in a 7:00 PM tip-off and the home-opener will take place two days later when long-time rival Husson comes to "The Lake" in what will be the 81st meeting between the former conference foes. Tip for the Monks' home-opener, slated to follow the women's basketball opener versus the Eagles, is set for 7:30 PM.
After making trips to Bowdoin and Maine-Farmington, the Monks host Southern Maine on December 1st in the annual Costello Cup game, which will be played for the 25th time this year. Named for the late Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach, the Costello Cup is presented annually to the winner of the contest between the in-state rivals. Saint Joseph's has retained the Cup for five consecutive seasons and owns a 15-9 record against the Huskies in the history of the Costello Cup series.
The Monks open GNAC play two days later when Johnson & Wales ventures to Standish for a 7:00 PM tip-off. St. Joe's closes out the 2013 calendar year with conference contests at Suffolk (Dec. 5) and Rivier (Dec. 7) and opens the New Year with a pair of games in the Catholic University Holiday Inn College Park Classic Tournament on January 4th and 5th (tourney schedule had yet to be announced at time of release).
Saint Joseph's returns to New England and jumps right back into conference play with road games versus Norwich (Jan. 9) and Anna Maria (Jan. 11). The later contest versus the AMCATS, who knocked the Monks out of the GNAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season last February, will be the team's sixth-consecutive road game.
St. Joe's returns home, albeit briefly, to host Mount Ida on January 15th before hitting the road again for GNAC tilts against a pair of conference contenders in reigning champion Albertus Magnus (Jan. 18) and the always-tough Johnson & Wales (Jan. 20).
The Monks finally get to experience a stretch of home contests as seven of the team's final 10 regular-season games – including four in a row starting with a matchup with Lasell on January 23rd – take place at the Alfond Center.
Saint Joseph's hosts Norwich (Jan. 25), Emmanuel (Jan. 29) and Albertus Magnus (Feb. 1) before traveling to Newton, Massachusetts for a 6:00 PM start against Mount Ida on February 5th. Rivier travels to "The Lake" on February 8th, the Monks play at Emmanuel three days later and Suffolk plays at the Alfond Center on February 15th.
On February 18th, Saint Joseph's hosts Anna Maria in a contest that will certainly feature GNAC Tournament implications and will also be the Monks' final home game of the regular season. St. Joe's closes out the year with a game at Lasell on February 22nd.
The GNAC Tournament begins with a quarterfinal round on February 25th and continues with the semifinals on February 27th. The championship takes place on March 1st and the NCAA Tournament starts on March 7th.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shore of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
