STANDISH, Maine – Bates College (19-5, 7-3 NESCAC) edged Saint Joseph's College (12-11, 10-6 GNAC), 62-57, in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Harold Alfond Center on Monday evening. Junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) scored a game-high 18 points in the loss.
Bates, the top team in the Northeast in the latest NCAA DIII Regional Rankings, held a 31-23 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 14 points midway through the second stanza, but Saint Joseph's fought back into contention with a 15-3 run to make it a 53-51 game with 3:14 remaining. The Bobcats managed to hold off the upset-minded Monks with the help of a Graham Safford (Hampden, Maine) conventional three-point play and five points from junior guard Mike Boornazian (Portland, Conn.) in the closing minutes.
For the Monks, freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) scored 11 points with four rebounds, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) added six points, senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, and sophomores John Crawley (Fitchburg, Maine) and Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) chipped in with five points apiece in the losing effort. Senior guard Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) dealt a career-high seven assists in the close contest.
Boornazian led the Bobcats with 16 points while Safford netted 14 with six assists and sophomore center Max Eaton (St. Petersburg, Fla.) came off the bench to tally nine points and nine rebounds on the evening. Senior guards Billy Selmon (Atlanta, Ga.) and Adam Philpott (Gloucester, Mass.) and junior forward Mike Newton (Chapel Hill, N.C.) scored seven points apiece in the triumph.
Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 41.8% (23-55) from the floor and 26.9% (7-26) from three-point range while making all four of the team's attempts from the free throw line in the losing bid. The Monks owned advantages in assists (16-12), second-chance points (15-6) and points in the paint (28-24).
Bates posted a 46.8% (22-47) clip from the floor while shooting 30% (6-20) from downtown and 70.6% (12-17) from the FT line on the night. The Bobcats held the lead in rebounding (31-30), points off turnovers (16-9) and bench points (23-14) en route to victory.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 7-12 in the history of the series with Bates College, a team the Monks defeated by an 82-77 score in the last meeting between the in-state rivals, a tilt that took place in Lewiston on November 19th, 2013.
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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.
