WORCESTER, Mass. – The Saint Joseph's College men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season with a 98-71 loss at the hands of WPI in the opening game of the Ted Coghlin Memorial Tournament on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game was a see saw affair for the first 10 minutes with freshman guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) lifting the Monks to a 20-19 lead with 10:39 left in the first half. Unfortunately for the Royal Blue, the lead would be their last for the remainder of the night, as the Engineers rattled off 10 unanswered points over the subsequent two minutes to claim a 29-20 advantage.
Saint Joseph's managed to cut the deficit to 32-28 after senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) made a layup with 5:45 before the break, but WPI put forth a game-changing 14-1 run en route to securing a 46-29 advantage with 2:12 left in the opening half.
The Engineers proceeded to hold at least a 13-point cushion for the remainder of the contest and held a game-high 34-point lead with 6:53 left in the second stanza.
STATS OF THE GAME:
WPI held a 64-38 lead in points in the paint with a 35-25 advantage in bench points and outrebounded the Monks by a 40-29 margin. The Engineers scored 17 points off 15 SJC turnovers.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Curtis scored a game-high 23 points and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line with three steals and a pair of rebounds
- Senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) added 15 points
- Junior Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) pulled down seven rebounds with four points and four assists
- Llopiz came off the bench to score eight points
LEADERS – WPI:
- John Lowther netted 22 points with six rebounds and was 9-for-11 from the floor
- John Adams added 13 points with six boards, two assists, two steals, and a pair of blocked shots
- Colin McNamara chipped in with 12 points , two assists and two steals
- Logan O'Donnell came off the bench to contribute 10 points and three rebounds
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 0-4 all-time versus WPI, a team the Monks had not faced since 2013 prior to this evening's matchup.
NEXT!
WPI will play the winner of tonight's Colby College / New England College contest in the Ted Coghlin Memorial Tournament Championship at 4:00 PM. St. Joe's will face the Colby / NEC loser in a consolation game tomorrow afternoon.
