PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – Saint Joseph's College (4-4, 2-1 GNAC) defeated St. Joseph's College (L.I.) (1-7, 1-1 Skyline), 60-54, in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Trailing 7-6 with 16:25 left in the first half, the Monks rattled off a 14-2 run to assume control and held a 35-21 cushion at intermission. The contest seemed to be all but over early in the second stanza as the visitors owned a game-high 18-point advantage (44-26) when senior Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) made a layup with 15:42 on the clock, but the situation changed considerably soon thereafter, as the Eagles outscored the Monks by a 24-10 margin over the next 14 minutes.

St. Joseph's (L.I.) senior guard Andy Laurent (Amityville, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer to cut his team's deficit down to five (54-49) with 1:32 remaining, but SJC sophomore Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) hit a big trifecta of his own on the Monks' following possession to provide breathing room. A 50% (3-6) free-throw shooting effort in the closing 40 seconds could have been the Monks' downfall, but all three of the Eagles' shots in the final 20 seconds were off the mark.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Sophomore Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists
• Junior Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) scored 10 points with six boards, three blocked shots, and two steals
• Sophomore Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) netted nine points with three caroms and three assists
• Ruffen came off the bench to score nine points with six rebounds and three helpers
• Freshman Mario Nery (Bronx, N.Y.) added five steals and four assists off the bench

LEADERS – ST. JOSEPH'S (L.I.):

• Laurent led all players with 21 points and added 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals to an impressive stat line
• Fernando Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied 15 points with six boards and three steals

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Bates College in a non-conference contest Sunday, December 18th at 1:00 PM.