STANDISH, Maine – The 2015-16 Saint Joseph's College men's basketball schedule has been announced. The Monks will play a full slate of 25 games this winter, including 18 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tilts and 11 home contests.
The 2015-16 season, which will be the 13th for Head Coach Rob Sanicola '99, begins with a pair of games in the University of New England Tournament. The Monks will face Hunter College (NY) on Friday, November 13th and play either UNE or Colby-Sawyer College in the championship or consolation game the following day.
The 2015 home opener will be played on Thursday, November 19th when the Monks play host to in-state rival Husson University in a 7:30 PM tip-off.
As has become tradition, Saint Joseph's will play University of Southern Maine in the annual Costello Cup doubleheader on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. The Monks host this year with the women's game tipping off at 5:30 PM and the men starting play at 7:30 PM.
Presented annually to the winner of the contest between the rivals, the Costello Cup honors the late Dr. Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach. Saint Joseph's owns a 15-11 record in the history of the Costello Cup series and seeks to regain possession of the prized trophy after suffering a 74-58 loss in Gorham last season.
Conference play begins on Tuesday, December 1st when Emmanuel College treks to Standish for a 7:00 PM tilt and continues with games versus Anna Maria College (12/5) and Mount Ida College (12/8) at home and on the road, respectively.
Saint Joseph's closes out the 2015 calendar year at Bowdoin College on December 30th and kicks off the New Year with a huge home game against GNAC-rival Johnson & Wales University on January 5th. The contest ignites a 15-game conference stretch for the Royal Blue.
The Monks host reigning GNAC Champion Albertus Magnus College on Saturday, January 9th and travel to New Haven to face the Falcons on Saturday, January 30th.
St. Joe's plays six conference games during the month of February, including home tilts versus Mount Ida College (2/6) and Norwich University (2/13), with the latter being the Monks' final regular-season home game of the year.
The Monks wrap up the 2015-16 campaign with games at Suffolk University and Anna Maria on February 16th and 20th, respectively.
The 2016 GNAC Tournament begins with a quarterfinal round on February 23rd and continues with a pair of semifinal games on February 25th. The championship will be played on Saturday, February 27th and the NCAA DIII Tournament starts on March 3rd.
Saint Joseph's College completed the 2014-15 season with a 13-14 overall record and a 10-8 mark in GNAC play. As the #4 seed in the conference tourney, the Monks defeated #5 Lasell College, 84-77 in overtime, in a GNAC Quarterfinal on February 24th to advance to the semifinal round for the seventh time in eight seasons as a member of the conference. The campaign came to a close with a semifinal loss at top-seeded Albertus Magnus, a team that proceeded to win its fourth-consecutive GNAC Championship, on February 26th.
The 2015-16 schedule can be found in its entirety HERE
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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 474-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.
