PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Saint Joseph's College men's basketball team opened the 2018-19 season with an 99-91 setback at the hands of Plymouth State University on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Trailing 9-7 early, the Monks fell on the wrong side of an 18-4 run that saw the Panthers claim a 27-11 lead with 10:33 remaining in the first half.
Saint Joseph's made things interesting late, as the Royal Blue cut a 22-point deficit (91-69) down to a 94-84 score with 1:24 left, but Plymouth State managed to put the game away with the help of a 5-8 free-throw shooting performance in the closing 75 seconds.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Panthers shot 44.4% (12-27) from beyond the arc, opposed to a 28.6% (8-28) clip by the Monks, and scored 30 points off 28 SJC turnovers in the opener.
LEADERS - SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Sophomore Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) netted a career-high 27 points with nine rebounds and four assists
- Senior Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) came off the bench to tally 14 points and eight boards
- Senior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with 13 points, five caroms, and four assists
- Freshman Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) scored 13 points with four assists and was 5-7 from the field in his collegiate debut
- Senior Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) rounded out the Monks' double-digit scorers with 10 points and added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the loss
LEADERS – PLYMOUTH STATE:
- Dante Rivera was 5-8 from downtown with 23 points and four steals
- Joe Simpson scored 21 points and went 4-8 from beyond the arc
- Jaylen LeRoy added 21 points with the help of a 7-9 free-throw shooting effort
- Manny Alisandro chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 7-6 all-time versus Plymouth State University. The last meeting between these two teams took place in Plymouth on January 15th, 2004.
NEXT!
The Monks will host Thomas College in the 2018-19 home-opener on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.