PROVIDENCE, R.I. - #8 Saint Joseph's College (8-18) suffered a 73-36 loss at the hands of top-seeded Johnson & Wales University (24-2) in a GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday night. The setback signals the end of the Monks' 2015-16 campaign.

THE LEAD

Johnson & Wales, ranked 14th nationally in the latest D3Hoops.com weekly poll, jumped out to a 19-7 lead with the help of a 13-2 run in the midst of the first half. Saint Joseph's fought back to within five points as a Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) jumper made it a 21-16 game with 5:06 before the break, but the Wildcats outscored the Royal Blue by a 12-1 margin in the final minutes of the first frame and held a 33-17 lead at intermission.

The Wildcats proved to be too much to handle and ballooned their lead to 21 when senior Tom Garrick converted a layup with 14:17 remaining. Freshman guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) hit a jump shot at the 5:53 mark to make it a 62-36 game and the bucket would be the last for the Monks, as the hosts held the visitors off the board while netting 11 in the final five minutes.

Tonight's loss signals the end of NCAA Basketball for the Monks' three seniors: Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.), Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.), and Davis Tucker (High Point, N.C.), a group that helped Saint Joseph's post a 57-52 (.523) with four GNAC Tournament appearances over the last four seasons.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Sophomore forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) led the Monks with nine points and nine rebounds
• Mileikis added eight points
• Luschenat chipped in with eight points

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES

• Garrick led all scorers with 20 points and completed the double-double with 10 rebounds
• Senior Quarry Greenaway also produced a double-double with 18 points and 11 caroms
• Robert Lewis came off the bench to score 15 points while making six of seven shots from the field
• Anthony Jernigan contributed 12 points, five boards, three assists, and three steals

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's shot 29.4% (15-51) from the floor, 20% (3-15) from three-point range, and 42.9% (3-7) from the free throw line in the loss. Johnson & Wales shot 45.3% (29-64) from the field and 21.4% (3-14) from downtown while making all 12 free-throw attempts in the victory.

Johnson & Wales held advantages in rebounds (43-29), assists (7-5), turnovers (5-12), points off turnovers (17-1), second-chance points (16-2), points in the paint (44-22), fast break points (8-0), and bench points (19-3) on the evening.

#GOMONKS

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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.