STANDISH, ME - Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) scored a career-high 19 points and Tyler Kelley '11 (Saco, ME) also netted 19 to help lift Saint Joseph's (7-1, 3-0 GNAC) to an 82-76 triumph over non-conference opponent Farmingdale State College (2-6) on Saturday afternoon at the Harold Alfond Center.

Shahee Martin '11 (Lakeview, NY) paced all scorers with 28 points and added 9 boards and 5 assists for the visiting Rams. Nikita Davis '11 (Brooklyn, NY) notched a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 12 boards, 9 of which came on the offensive end. Farmingdale has participated in the NCAA DIII Tournament in three of the last four seasons and advanced to the Elite 8, where the Rams fell to eventual national runner-up Richard Stockton, last year after defeating University of New England and MIT in the first two rounds.

Free throws proved to be the difference in the first-ever matchup between the two teams. The Monks, off to the program's best start since the 9-1 opening to the 2002-03 season, converted 81% (17-21) of their attempts from the charity stripe in the victory. Farmingdale State countered with a 50% (11-22) effort. Also, neither team clicked from three-point range, as the two programs combined for a paltry 23.2% (10-43) rate from beyond the arc.

The first half featured 10 lead changes, most of which occurring in the first five minutes of play. Farmingdale held a slim advantage for the better part of the opening stanza and led 26-21, after an Alby Skrelji '13 (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) layup, with 7:10 remaining in the first half.

The Monks began to regain control on their next two possessions, however, as a jumpshot by Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) and a three by Kelley made it a tie game, 26-26, with 6:31 to go in the first.

On the next SJC possession, O'Brien drained both freebies after an intentional foul call on Skrelji, who provided the Rams with their final share of the lead with a jumper on the visitors' next trip down the floor. With the game knotted at 28 apiece, the Monks rattled off eight unanswered points as part of a 15-6 run in the closing five minutes of the opening half and carried a 43-34 lead into the intermission.

The pesky Rams maintained a single-digit deficit for the majority of the second stanza. The Monks' largest lead of the afternoon - 74-61 after Jones connected on a pair of free throws at the 3:31 mark - was decimated by 13-6 FSC surge in the waning minutes. If St. Joe's had not posted a solid 7-9 effort from the FT line in the final two minutes, the outcome could very well have been different.

Saint Joseph's shot 46.8% (29-62) from the floor, 26.9% (7-26) from beyond the arc, and 81% (17-21) from the FT line, while Farmingdale shot 41.3% (31-75) overall, 17.6% (3-17) from three-point range and 50% (11-22) from the charity stripe.

The Rams outworked the Monks on the glass, 53-30, and grabbed 27 offensive boards in the losing effort. The rebound tally is the most given up by St. Joe's since the Monks allowed Norwich to grab 53 on December 3^rd, 2008. St. Joe's has lost the rebound battle three times this season and just 11 times since the 58-52 win over the Cadets in early December last winter, a span of 30 games.

For St. Joe's, O'Brien added 17 points and 5 caroms, Jones netted 9 points and 8 boards and Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) posted an all-around effort with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 4 steals.

Skrelji chipped in with 12 points and 8 boards and Andre Martin '11 (Bronx, NY) added 11 points and 5 caroms in the losing effort for the Rams.

Saint Joseph's will play at Bowdoin on Wednesday, January 6^th at 7:00 PM, while Farmingdale is set to host Skyline Conference counterpart NYU-Poly on Tuesday, January 5^th at 6:00 PM.

Farmingdale State vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
1/3/2010 3:00 PM at Alfond Center, Standish, ME
At Alfond Center, Standish, ME
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 82, FARMINGDALE STATE 76
FARMINGDALE STATE (2-6)
Martin, Shahee 10-17 6-6 28; Davis, Nikita 7-15 2-5 16; Skrelji, Alby 6-12
0-1 12; Martin, Andre 4-6 3-4 11; Howard, Terrence 1-4 0-2 3; Oliver, Ricco
1-11 0-0 2; Kulik, Jason 1-3 0-0 2; Riefenhauser, Ryan 1-1 0-0 2; Nunez,
Christian 0-1 0-0 0; Ambrose, Tymel 0-5 0-4 0. Totals 31-75 11-22 76.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (7-1)
Tyler Kelley 8-15 0-0 19; Chris Petzy 6-12 4-6 19; Zach O'Brien 5-13 6-7 17;
Rashon Jones 3-10 3-3 9; Ray Eatmon 3-4 2-3 8; Alberto Rue 2-5 0-0 4;
Anthony Savino 1-2 2-2 4; Julio Vazquez 1-1 0-0 2; Tom Ray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
29-62 17-21 82.
Farmingdale State.............   34   42  -   76
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   43   39  -   82
3-point goals--Farmingdale State 3-17 (Martin, Shahee 2-3; Howard, Terrence
1-2; Oliver, Ricco 0-9; Kulik, Jason 0-2; Davis, Nikita 0-1), St. Joseph's
(Me.) 7-26 (Chris Petzy 3-7; Tyler Kelley 3-9; Zach O'Brien 1-4; Alberto Rue
0-2; Rashon Jones 0-4). Fouled out--Farmingdale State-Martin, Andre, St.
Joseph's (Me.)-None. Rebounds--Farmingdale State 53 (Davis, Nikita 12), St.
Joseph's (Me.) 30 (Rashon Jones 8). Assists--Farmingdale State 13 (Martin,
Shahee 5), St. Joseph's (Me.) 17 (Ray Eatmon 6). Total fouls--Farmingdale
State 18, St. Joseph's (Me.) 15. Technical fouls--Farmingdale State-None,
St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-153