STANDISH, Maine – Senior forward Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) netted a career-high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to help propel Saint Joseph's College (7-6, 2-2 GNAC) past Johnson & Wales University (6-6, 3-1 GNAC), 69-62, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.

THE REST OF THE STORY:

The Monks held a comfortable 37-26 lead heading into intermission, but the Wildcats posted a 15-8 run midway through the second half to cut their deficit down to 57-55 with 5:30 remaining. Senior Jarell Lawson (Providence, R.I.) capped the scoring run with a layup to make it a two-point game.

St. Joe's responded with a 7-2 run, including five points from Hall, to secure a 64-57 cushion with 3:54 left and the SJC defense held the JWU offense to a 2-8 shooting performance from the field for the remainder of the contest to secure the victory.

KEY STAT:

Saint Joseph's held a 20-2 advantage in bench points on the evening.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Hall was 13-16 from the floor and added a pair of blocked shots
• Junior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) tallied 11 points, eight assists, and five rebounds
• Junior forward Jae Johns (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) came of the bench to score 11 points with four boards in 14 minutes
• Freshman Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) scored nine points with four caroms and a pair of rejections
• Junior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) added nine points, three rebounds, and three assists

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Junior forward Randall Ferdinand (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds
• Junior guard Brian Hogan-Gary (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 16 points, five assists, and four boards
• Lawson tallied 10 points, five caroms, and a pair of assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-13 in the history of the series with Johnson & Wales University and snaps an eight-game losing streak at the hands of the Wildcats. Prior to tonight, the Monks had not defeated JWU since December 3rd, 2013 (82-63) in a game played at the Alfond Center.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to action Saturday with a GNAC contest at Rivier University. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 PM.

#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.