STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (13-8, 8-4 GNAC) defeated Emmanuel College (2-19, 1-11 GNAC), 67-56, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball matchup at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's held a 38-22 lead going into intermission and extended the advantage to a game-high 20 points (46-26) when senior forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) hit a free throw to cap an 8-4 stretch in the opening four minutes of the second stanza.

Trailing by 16 (62-46) with 6:06 remaining, the Saints made things uncomfortable for the Monks in the final six minutes with a 10-2 run, and cut their deficit down to single digits, 65-56, when sophomore guard Blake Hardy (Waterbury, Conn.) closed out the surge with two free throws and 1:50 on the game clock.

Any momentum gained by the visitors seemed to be negated 12 seconds later however, as senior forward Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.), left unmanned under the rim while the Saints were pressing defensively, dropped in an easy layup to account for the 67-56 final.

KEY STAT:

Saint Joseph's shot a season-high 57.1% (8-14) from three-point distance in the victory, while Emmanuel countered with a 2-12 (16.7%) effort from beyond the arc in a losing bid.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) paced the Monks with 13 points and eight rebounds and went 3-5 from three-point range
• Junior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) tallied 11 points, five steals, three assists, and three boards
• Freshman guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) came off the bench to score 11 points with four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots and was 3-6 from downtown
• Richardson-Newton added 10 points and seven caroms
• Hall rounded out the Monks' quintet of double-digit scorers with 10 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

• Senior guard Colin Cordero (Bolton, Conn.) led the Saints with 10 points and added four rebounds
• Sophomore forward Owen Greene (Killingworth, Conn.) scored nine points with four rebounds and a pair of steals off the bench
• Junior guard Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.) added seven points and six rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 17-5 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College.

NEXT!

Both teams return to conference play Tuesday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Regis (Mass.) for a 7:00 PM tip-off and Emmanuel hosts Lasell College at 7:00 PM.

#GOMONKS

Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram!

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.