NEWTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (16-8, 15-2 GNAC) netted a single-game program record 18 three-pointers in an 87-56 victory over GNAC-rival Mount Ida College (5-19, 3-14 GNAC) on Thursday night. Senior guard Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) led the way with a game-high 26 points and went 7-12 from three-point range in the convincing triumph.
Junior Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine), who added 17 points on 5-8 long range shooting, was one of seven Monks to connect from downtown, joining Medeiros, Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.), Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.), Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.), Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) and Krubiel Workie (Denver, Colo.) on the long list. The three-point field goal tally tops the former record set when the Royal Blue drained 16 trifectas in a 77-74 win over Norwich University on January 11th, 2011.
The win extends the Monks' win streak to nine games, as St. Joe's has not suffered a setback in exactly one month. Johnson & Wales University defeated Saint Joseph's, 71-61, in Providence on January 20th to set the Monks' record back to 7-8 overall. All nine of the SJC victories during the streak have come against GNAC teams.
In the early going, Medeiros hit three times from outside, nailing his first three attempts in under five minutes en route to a 22-4 run to open the game for the Monks.
Mount Ida went on a mini-run of their own and pulled to within seven points, 33-26, on a Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) layup with 5:38 to play in the opening frame.
Simonds answered with a layup and a three-pointer in the next minute and Saint Joseph's scored the next nine points to push their lead back to double-digits, and it sat at 16 points, 48-32, at the halftime break.
The Monks continued to build on their lead through the second half, hitting nine more triples, including scoring twelve straight points via the three to build an 84-49 advantage. They held their largest lead of the night, 87-49, with 2:11 left in the game before the Mustangs scored the last seven points of the contest, including a three-pointer from senior Calvin Claiborne (Dorchester, Mass.), who had five points off the bench.
Senior Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) added 14 points, six boards, three assists and a pair of steals, Luschenat netted six points, Diggs dealt five assists and Davis Tucker (High Point, N.C.) pulled down six caroms – including four offensive boards – in seven minutes off the bench.
Freshman Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) led the Mustangs with 23 points while junior Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) added seven points and three assists and Anre Dowell (Plymouth, Mass.) had six points on 2-4 outside shooting.
Saint Joseph's shot 61.5% from the field in the first half and 53.7% for the game, while the Mustangs were a touch over 40% from the floor and shot 5-for-18 on three-point attempts of their own.
Mount Ida ends their regular season on Saturday afternoon when they celebrate Senior Day with a 3:00 pm game against Johnson & Wales at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
Saint Joseph's plays at the same time down the road against Lasell before prepping for the GNAC tournament.
MAJOR PORTIONS COURTESY OF MOUNT IDA COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION
GAME NOTES:
Saint Joseph's is now 15-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College…Jerome Diggs hit the record-breaking three off a Steve Simonds pass with 6:36 remaining in the contest…ironically, the three-pointer was Diggs' first of the season…the Monks are 430-44 (.907) all-time when scoring 85 or more points and has lost only twice – both to Johnson & Wales (106-90, 2/8/11; 98-92, 2/9/08) – when reaching the 85-point mark over the last 10 years…tonight's three-pointers attempted total is the second-highest in team history – behind a 37-attempt effort versus Lincoln University on February 25th, 2006…Medeiros surpassed the 1,300-point plateau in the victory and is currently 16th in team history with 1,324 points over 103 career contests.
UP NEXT:
The Monks are 9-7 all-time against Lasell College (14-10, 11-6 GNAC) and defeated the Lasers earlier this season by an 81-70 margin in a game played at the Alfond Center on January 23rd…Lasell defeated Suffolk University, 88-74, in other conference action tonight and is currently sitting in fourth in the GNAC standings…the Lasers will be hosting Senior Day festivities when the Monks come to town on Saturday.
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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 shores 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.