STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (10-9, 6-5 GNAC) topped Dean College (13-8, 8-6 GNAC), 94-86, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The conference counterparts swapped the lead twice in the opening minutes, but the Monks gained some breathing room with a 12-0 run during a two-minute window to secure a 19-6 advantage with 13:04 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs rallied with 10 straight points and faced a 19-16 deficit after Mark Blair capped the run with a layup at the 10:35 mark, but St. Joe's responded with a 13-2 burst en route to staking a 32-18 lead just over three minutes later.
Leading 44-37 at the break, the Monks maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the second stanza and held a game-high 22-point (89-67) cushion after freshman Jelani Freeman (Charlotte, N.C.) made a layup with 4:08 left.
In the closing minutes, Dean took advantage of poor ball security on the Monks' part and mounted a 19-5 run, accounting for the 94-86 final, but ultimately ran out of time.
MILESTONE MET:
With a trifecta made at the 17:18 mark of the first half, SJC graduate guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) became just the second player in Monks basketball history to make 300 career three-pointers. Senior Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) was credited with the assist on the milestone bucket.
Only Stephen Chase '93, who drilled 311 shots from downtown in 119 career contests, sits ahead of Curtis on the Monks' three-point field goals ledger. Curtis has connected on 301 treys in 105 career games.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks made 11-of-30 shots from three-point distance while the Bulldogs shot just 4-for-20 from beyond the arc…St. Joe's held the lead in points off turnovers (32-11), points in the paint (48-40), fastbreak points (22-13), and bench points (33-9) in the triumph.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Abbott scored 20 points with eight rebounds and two assists
- Graduate Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) netted 16 with three boards and two assists
- Freshman Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) tallied 10 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists
- Sophomore guards Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) and Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) scored 10 points apiece
- Junior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) added nine points, four rebounds, and two assists
LEADERS – DEAN:
- Junior center Malik Spearman (St. Paul, Minn.) recorded a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds
- Junior guard Jayden Madise (Palmdale, Calif.) scored 17 points with four boards
- Junior guard AJ Weston (Kansas City, Mo.) chipped in with 16 points, five assists, and four caroms
- Junior guard Charles Walker (Princeton, N.C.) added 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-0 in the history of the series with Dean College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Norwich University on Saturday in a GNAC matchup slated to start at 3:00 PM.
