STANDISH, Maine – Junior guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) tallied 31 points and nine rebounds to help push Saint Joseph's College (2-4) past Plymouth State University (4-3), 87-74, in a non-conference men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In a game featuring eight lead changes and eight tie scores, the Monks managed to gain the upper hand with a 22-6 run that began midway through the second stanza and spanned nearly nine minutes. Sophomore guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) opened the surge with a three-pointer, breaking a 60-60 tie at the 11:11 mark, and later closed the run with a free throw with 2:59 left and the hosts ahead by a game-high 16 points (82-66).
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's shot 55.2% (32-58) from the floor and 34.6% (9-26) from downtown while Plymouth State made 40% (30-75) of their shots overall with a 23.8% (5-21) rate from beyond the arc…The Panthers held advantages in points off turnovers (17-8), second-chance points (20-5) and bench points (17-5), but were unable to overcome the shooting discrepancy in the setback.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Casale scored 30 or more points for the 10th time in his career and was 11-for-14 from the floor with a 6-for-7 effort from the FT line; he also blocked a pair of shots
- Curtis added 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals
- Sophomore Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) contributed 14 points and three rebounds
- Sophomore David Keohan (West Newfield, Maine) registered 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists
- Freshman Joseph Nuttall (Holden, Mass.) chipped in with six points, four boards, and five assists
- Junior Patrick Kelly (Charlestown, Mass.) came off the bench to score four points with four caroms and three assists
LEADERS – PLYMOUTH STATE:
- Junior forward Devin Cooper (Newfield, N.Y.) notched a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds and was 10-for-16 from the floor
- Sophomore guard Dante Rivera (Methuen, Mass.) also registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists and added three rebounds and two steals to an impressive stat line
- Senior guard Jaylen LeRoy (Manchester, N.H.) scored 11 points with three boards
- Sophomore forward Manny Alisandro (Manchester, N.H.) added 10 points and eight caroms
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-5 all-time versus Plymouth State University (SERIES HISTORY).
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Bates College on Saturday at 4:00 PM.