WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – #1 University of Saint Joseph (15-0, 8-0 GNAC) rolled past Saint Joseph's College (7-7, 3-3 GNAC), 100-73, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks faced a five-point (37-32) deficit at halftime and trailed 65-61 after senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) hit a jump shot with 10:06 left in the second stanza. The wheels quickly fell off however, as the Blue Jays – ranked first in the D3hoops.com national poll for three-consecutive weeks – showed why they are so highly touted by netting 14 unanswered points in just over two minutes.
The USJ outburst, which gave the hosts a 79-61 cushion with 7:53 remaining, proved to be part of a larger dominant stretch as the Blue Jays outscored the Monks by a 35-12 margin in the closing 10 minutes of play.
STATS OF THE GAME:
University of Saint Joseph used the long ball to put Saint Joseph's away as the hosts made 9-of-17 attempts from downtown in the second half alone…The Blue Jays also held advantages in points off turnovers (24-13), second chance points (25-4), and points in the paint (50-30) on the afternoon.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored a season-high 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting from three-point distance with six rebounds
- Graduate guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) tallied 12 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals
- Abbott chipped in with 12 points and four caroms
- Graduate guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) scored 10 points with four assists
- Sophomore guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to net nine points with a pair of boards
LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH:
- Ryan O'Neill poured in 34 points with eight rebounds and two steals
- Alec Kinder posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards
- Jake Sullivan scored 14 points with six caroms and two steals
- Jaecee Martin added 11 points and five assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 1-5 in the history of the series with University of Saint Joseph.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Emmanuel College on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
