STANDISH, Maine – #4 Saint Joseph's College (13-13, 10-8 GNAC) will play at top-seeded Albertus Magnus College (25-1, 18-0 GNAC) tonight in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal contest starting at 7:00 PM. The contest is a rematch of the 2014 GNAC Championship, which the Falcons won by an 84-49 margin in New Haven last March.
#2 Johnson & Wales University (21-5, 15-3 GNAC) and fifth-seeded Emmanuel College (10-15, 7-11 GNAC) are set to face off in the other tourney semifinal matchup tonight in Providence. The Wildcats toppled #7 Mount Ida College, 81-57, and the Saints stunned #3 Anna Maria College, 76-73, to advance to the second round of the conference tournament.
The GNAC Championship game will be played on Saturday, February 28th. The higher seeded team hosts throughout tourney play and the GNAC Champion earns an automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 5th.
How they got here:
Saint Joseph's edged #5 Lasell College, 84-77, in a GNAC quarterfinal that required overtime to determine a winner at the Alfond Center on Tuesday night.
The Monks trailed by as many as nine points midway though the second half but rallied with a 13-2 run and held a 66-64 lead after freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) converted a traditional three-point play with 56 seconds remaining in regulation. Lasers senior guard Jeremy Daniel (Bridgeport, Conn.) was fouled with 0.2 seconds left and proceeded to make both pressure-packed freebies, effectively sending the playoff tilt into overtime.
Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) took control of the game in extra play, as the third-year starter netted 11 of the Monks' 16 OT points to close out one of the team's most exciting games in recent memory.
Albertus Magnus took a different route to the semifinal round, as the Falcons posted a decided 108-82 victory over #8 Suffolk University at home on Tuesday night. Albertus, ranked seventh nationally in the most recent D3Hoops.com Poll, never trailed in the quarterfinal and received 18 points apiece from seniors Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) in the triumph.
The Falcons shot 70% (21-30) in the first half, and 56.5% (39-69) overall, while posting advantages in rebounds (46-38), points off turnovers (23-15), points in the paint (48-30), and fast break points (22-4) versus the Rams.
Who to watch – Saint Joseph's:
Simonds leads the Monks' offensive effort, averaging 22.4 PPG while shooting 53.2% (181-340) from the floor, 47.2% (93-197) from three-point land, and 88.2% (105-119) from the free throw line on the season. The senior guard leads the conference in points (560), PPG, free throw percentage (87.5%), three-pointers made (93) and three-point percentage (47.2%), ranks second in rebounding (7.9), third in field goals made (181) and total rebounds (198), sixth in FT made (105) and FG% (53.2%), and sixth in assists (87).
Senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) averages 11.1 PPG while shooting 45.7% (112-245) from the field and is one of five SJC players who have made at least 20 three-pointers this winter. A clutch performer, Blodgett scored 19 with seven boards and was 7-8 from the FT line in the quarterfinal win over the Lasers on Tuesday and the Monks would be well-served to have him post similar numbers against the Falcons tonight.
Richardson-Newton has been a steady contributor while starting all 26 contests for the Monks this winter, averaging 9.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG while shooting 55.6% (89-160) from the field – the fourth-highest mark in the conference - and 72.4% (71-98) from the charity stripe as a freshman. A two-time GNAC Rookie of the Week honoree, Richardson-Newton sports the highest PPG average by an SJC freshman since Chris Davis posted a 9.8 PPG mark in 2008.
Junior Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) averages 8.5 PPG and ranks second in the conference in both three-pointers made (66) and three-point percentage (46.2%). Sophomore guard Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.), who has seen increased minutes of late, averages 4.0 PPG while shooting 35.5% (22-62) from downtown.
Senior Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) and junior Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) have split time at the point guard post and combined to score 6.0 PPG while dishing out 6.3 assists per contest.
Who to watch – Albertus Magnus:
Featuring a high-octane offense, the Falcons feature four starters who average at least 11.8 points per game. Sledge, an NCAA DI transfer from Iona, leads the effort with 20.0 PPG while shooting 50.9% (174-342) from the floor and 74.3% (124-167) from the free throw line. A two-time GNAC Player of the Week honoree, Sledge ranks second in the conference in points (501), free throws made (124) and steals (50) and is third scoring (20.0 PPG) and assists (127).
Perhaps the most prolific player in the conference, Ljuljdjuraj – a 6'8' forward - averages 18.8 PPG and 10.7 RPG and leads the GNAC in field goals made (195), rebounding, total rebounds (277) and blocked shots (109). A four-time GNAC Player of the Week winner, Ljuljdjuraj has registered 16 double-doubles and has recorded three or more rejections in 18 of the Falcons' 26 contests this winter. In his second season with Albertus, he enters tonight's contest just 17 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau.
Senior Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.), an exceptionally athletic point guard, averages 12.2 points, 7.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game and leads the conference in dimes (197). The Falcons court general entered the tournament playing at his best, as the senior garnered February 23rd GNAC Player of the Week honors after averaging 23.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in a 3-0 week, which included an overtime win over Emmanuel in which Davis netted a career-high 37 with 10 boards and 10 dimes to complete a triple-double performance.
Senior forward Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) rounds out the Falcons' top-scoring quartet with 11.8 PPG while posting the second-highest FG% (61.6%, 98-159) in the conference. He also ranks second in the GNAC in total rebounds (205).
The Falcons' fifth starter – senior guard Julian Sanders (Trumbull, Conn.) – is currently averaging 8.6 PPG with a 47.8% (65-136) field goal percentage and has posted double-digit point totals in each of his last seven starts.
Recipe for success – Saint Joseph's:
Led by 12th-year Head Coach Rob Sanicola '99, the Monks feature an intriguing blend of stellar defense and outstanding shooting, as St. Joe's leads the league in three-point success (41.2%) and three-pointers made per game (9.4) and rank second in scoring defense (67.7 PPG), field goal percentage (47.6%) and free-throw percentage (73.7%). St. Joe's has allowed fewer than 70 points in 16 different games this season and has won 12 of those contests. The Monks sport a 7-2 record when shooting 45% or better from three-point land and own a 10-4 mark when making at least 12 free throws this winter.
In what has become a trend, the Monks also lead the conference in fewest personal fouls per game with 15.2 infractions per contest. Saint Joseph's has paced the conference in this category in each of the last seven seasons.
Recipe for success – Albertus Magnus:
Guided by eighth-year Head Coach Mitch Oliver, the Falcons have done just about everything right this season and enter tonight's game having won 24 straight games. More impressive is the fact that Albertus owns the longest home winning streak (55 games) in NCAA Men's Basketball – all levels.
Albertus leads the conference in 13 different statistical categories: points (2481), PPG (95.4), FG made (33.7) and attempted (66.2) per game, FG% (50.9%), free throws made (21.5) and attempted (31.4) per contest, defensive boards (31.2) and total rebounds (44.3) per game, rebounding margin (6.3), assists per game (19.7), blocks per game (7.1) and opponent's FG% (39.4%).
The Falcons lead all of NCAA DIII Men's Basketball in blocks per game and winning percentage (.960), rank second in scoring margin (18.8), FG%, and assists per game, and third in scoring offense.
Albertus has scored 90 or more points in 16 different games and, including Tuesday's 108 spot against Suffolk, has surpassed the triple-digit mark on eight occasions this season.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Coach Sanicola owns a 205-122 (.627) career record and has won three GNAC Coach of the Year accolades over the last six seasons. A point guard on some of the best teams in Saint Joseph's men's basketball history, he has guided the Monks to a GNAC Tournament berth for eight-consecutive seasons, including a GNAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009. Saint Joseph's has won at least one conference tourney contest in seven of eight playoff appearances with three trips to the GNAC title tilt since joining the conference in the fall of 2007.
Coach Oliver, now 164-63 (.722) in eight years at the helm for Albertus, is the winningest coach in Falcons men's basketball history and has led his team to three-consecutive GNAC Championships and four of the last five overall. Under his watch, the Falcons have won four NCAA Tournament contests and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament 'Sweet 16' last March. Oliver has garnered a pair of GNAC Coach of the Year accolades, was named as the 2014 D3Hoops.com Northeast Region Coach of the Year and has been selected as a Glenn Robinson NCAA DIII Coach of the Year finalist twice in the last three years.
The last time we met:
Albertus Magnus defeated Saint Joseph's by an 80-66 score at the Harold Alfond Center on January 24th. Ljuljdjuraj led all players with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Simonds and Luschenat netted 21 points apiece in the losing effort.
The conference rivals swapped the lead on six occasions in the first half, as the Monks would face no worse than a seven-point deficit for the entirety of the opening frame. Saint Joseph's employed a 13-1 run early in the second stanza, an effort that cut the Falcons' lead to 49-48 with 14:03 remaining, but Albertus immediately followed with a 20-3 run to all but clinch the conference victory.
For Albertus Magnus, the point total versus Saint Joseph's in January ranks as the third-fewest scored by the Falcons in a victory this season. Albertus posted a whopping 54-26 advantage in points in the paint that afternoon.
Albertus also defeated St. Joe's, 101-88, in New Haven on January 10th. Blodgett led all scorers with 25 points in the loss while Sledge paced the Falcons with 24 points and Davis dealt 16 assists in the victory.
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's enters tonight's semifinal with an 8-10 all-time record against Albertus Magnus College. St. Joe's and Johnson & Wales are the only two GNAC programs to have defeated the Falcons three times in the last five years, with the Monks being the last to do so, as the Royal Blue upset AMC, 74-55, at home on February 1st, 2014. The Falcons' point tally that day is the fewest they have scored over the past five years.
The Monks have typically fared better defensively versus the Falcons than other GNAC teams, as St. Joe's has allowed an average of 82.8 PPG in 11 meetings over the last five seasons while the remainder of the conference has combined to allow 91.3 PPG while facing Albertus during the same span.
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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.
