PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Berthiaume '24
STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (2-3) snapped a three-game skid with an 82-74 victory over UMaine-Farmington (4-2) in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks kicked off their 2023-24 home-opener with a hot hand, as a trio of treys from grad student Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) and another trifecta from sophomore John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) during the first 97 seconds provided the hosts with a 12-0 cushion.
St. Joe's proceeded to hold the lead for the remainder of the contest, but UMF did not go down easily and challenged with several impressive scoring runs.
Saint Joseph's held a 23-11 lead after junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) hit a three-pointer at the 12:46 mark, but UMaine-Farmington came to life to the tune of a 9-0 surge to make it a 23-20 game with 10 minutes before the break.
After a timeout the Monks countered with an 11-4 burst, which was capped by a Frazier jumper and the hosts on top by 10 (34-24) with 4:36 left in the first half. The in-state rivals essentially swapped scored in the final minutes of the half and St. Joe's headed into intermission with a 38-30 advantage.
The Beavers maintained a single-digit disadvantage during the opening minutes of the second stanza and trailed by three (41-38) after senior Simon Chadbourne (Portland, Maine) made a three-pointer 2:53 into the latter half. Saint Joseph's answered by making 5-of-7 shots from the field during a 13-1 run to secure a 54-39 lead with 14:09 on the clock.
The Monks looked to cruise to victory after freshman Braden Camire (Saco, Maine) nailed a three to give the Royal Blue a game-high 19-point (70-51) advantage with 8:26 left, but the Beavers kept chipping away at the deficit and mounted a late 13-1 run to make it a three-point (76-73) game with 1:51 remaining.
Thankfully, St. Joe's outscored UMF, 6-1, in the closing minutes to secure the victory. Frazier scored five of the six points and drilled a crucial three-pointer from the corner with 24 seconds left to ice the victory. In the meantime, the Beavers went 1-for-4 from the FT line.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's pulled off the victory with the help of the hot start and a solid 37.8% (14-37) three-point shooting performance…The Beavers outshot the Monks (48.3% - 39.7%) but went just 6-for-19 from downtown in the setback and shot 57.1% (12-21) from the charity stripe on the evening.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Abbott finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds, and two assists
- Frazier was 4-for-7 from downtown with 16 points, four boards, and three steals
- Junior guard Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) tallied 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists
- Freshman Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) provided a spark off the bench with seven points, two assists, and a pair of steals
- Llopiz and sophomore Jelani Freeman (Charlotte, N.C.) added six points apiece
LEADERS – UMAINE-FARMINGTON:
- Freshman Brock Flagg (Brewer, Maine) came off the bench to net a game-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting with three steals and two boards
- Sophomore Jordan Anthony (Farmington, Conn.) added 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals
- Junior Ethan Forrester (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came off the bench to contribute nine points, six boards, and three blocks
- Senior guard Zachary Mickle (Billerica, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and a pair of rebounds
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 55-25 in the history of the series with UMaine-Farmington, an opponent that entered tonight's contest having defeated the Monks in three-consecutive meetings.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play a pair of games in the Snyder Classic at Nebraska Wesleyan University this Friday and Saturday. The Monks will face Buena Vista on Friday at 6:00 PM on Friday and Nebraska Wesleyan at 6:00 PM on Saturday.
