PHOTO CREDIT: Laurel Clace '25
STANDISH, Maine – #3 Saint Joseph's College (17-9) tipped #6 Emmanuel College (12-13), 74-73, in a hard-fought Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball tournament quarterfinal on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's moves on to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season and will play at #2 Albertus Magnus College in a second round contest on Thursday at 7:00 PM. Albertus Magnus outlasted #7 Regis College, 79-67, in other quarterfinal action tonight.
For Emmanuel, tonight's loss signals the end of the 2023-24 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks and Saints played through four lead changes and a pair of tie scores in the first 15 minutes of play, but St. Joe's registered a 10-2 run to turn a one-point game into a 36-27 cushion after junior Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) closed the surge with a three-pointer with 3:22 before the break.
Saint Joseph's headed into intermission with a 41-33 advantage and secured a game-high 12-point lead after junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) put his team on top 54-42 with a layup and 11:24 remaining. The Monks led by at least three points until Cameron Snowden (Franklin Park, N.J.) hit a pair of freebies to make it a one-point game, 74-73, with 20 seconds left.
On the ensuing in-bounds play with the Saints running a full court press, Ismani Cepeda (Roslindale, Mass.) intercepted an errant pass at halfcourt and launched a three-point attempt from the top of the key, but his attempt rattled off the front of the rim as time expired.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Team stats were nearly identical, but the Monks held the lead in points off turnovers (15-11) and bench points (25-15) in the victory…Depth played an important role, as the Monks rotated through nine different players while the Saints featured only seven players on the evening.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Sophomore guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) was 5-for-9 from downtown with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals
- Freshman guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) netted 16 points with five boards and four steals
- Senior guard Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with 12 points, two caroms, and a pair of assists while going 4-for-4 from the field, 2-for-2 from deep, and 2-for-2 from the FT line
- Llopiz scored 11 points with two rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench
LEADERS – EMMANUEL:
- Senior Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds and added five assists and a pair of blocks
- Sophomore Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) tallied 15 points, six boards, and five assists
- Snowden came off the bench to score 15 points and was 7-for-7 from the FT line
- Cepeda added 14 points and was 4-for-7 from downtown
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 22-10 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College.
