STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (8-8, 7-2 GNAC) outlasted Lasell College (8-6, 5-3 GNAC), 81-70, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold AlfondHarold Alfond Center on Thursday night.

Senior Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) certainly had a memorable night, as the 6'6 forward accounted for much of the Monks' offense with a 31-point effort off a 10-19 performance from the floor while shooting 11-12 from the free throw line. He also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds to record his third-consecutive double-double and fourth of the season.

Jobin also made history in the triumph as he became the 37th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark when he converted a conventional three-point play with 5:05 remaining in the second quarter. Jobin, who entered the game with 971 career points, hit the landmark on the nose when he netted a layup, was fouled by Lasers sophomore forward Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.), and went to the line where he quickly nailed the free throw for his 29th point of the night. He later added a pair of freebies to account for his career-high total.

Saint Joseph's nearly led from wire to wire in the important conference contest, as the Lasers' lone lead came on their third possession when sophomore guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) drained a three-pointer 1:44 into play. The Monks answered with nine-consecutive points over the following three minutes and held at least a share of the lead for the remainder of the game.

The first half remained close however, as Lasell maintained a two-possession deficit until O'Brien hit another trifecta at the 5:34 mark to knot the game at 19-apiece. Saint Joseph's proceeded to outscore the Lasers by a 19-6 margin over the closing five minutes - a span during which the Royal Blue made nine of 10 attempts from the charity stripe en route to securing a 38-25 cushion heading into intermission.

The second stanza began in a very similar fashion to how the first frame came to a close – with the Monks scoring points in bunches. Leading 41-31 after O'Brien dropped another three 23 seconds into the latter half, St. Joe's mustered a 16-2 offensive surge to claim a commanding 57-33 advantage. Jobin capped the run with a bucket at the 14:33 mark and scored 12 of the Monks' first 19 coming out of the locker room.

But the visitors proved to be resilient, as the Lasers rattled off an impressive run of their own to jump right back into the game. Trailing 62-38 with 11:32 remaining, Lasell rattled off 20 unanswered points during a 4:28 window to cut the deficit to just four points (62-58) with 7:04 on the clock. The Monks answered yet again with eight-consecutive points in the subsequent two minutes and the three-point play that cemented Jobin's spot on the 1,000-point banner closed the outburst with the hosts owning a 70-58 lead.

The pesky Lasers continued to chip away at the lead and would cut the SJC edge down to six (70-64) with 2:46 left when Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) converted a rare four-point play, as the junior guard hit a three-pointer, was fouled, and made the free throw to provide his team with one last gasp. The effort would fall short, however as the Monks went 9-9 from the stripe in the closing minutes to seal the victory.

For the Monks, Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) was 9-9 from the line and scored 18 points, Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) added seven points, three boards and three assists, Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) contributed nine points, and James Philbrook (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with six points and five rebounds. Jordan Tripp (Maspeth, N.Y.) also played an important role and added four points, four assists and six rebounds in the win.

Senior guard Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) paced the Lasers with 19 points, O'Brien was 4-8 from downtown and scored 14, Ortiz added 11 points and six caroms, and Niba tallied nine points and 12 boards in a losing bid.

Saint Joseph's shot 47.1% (24-51) from the floor, 20% (2-10) from three-point distance, and 79.5% (31-39) from the free throw line on the evening. Lasell shot 33.3% (25-75) from the field, 27.3% (9-33) from downtown, and 78.6% (11-14) from the line in the loss. The Monks held  a 44-38 lead on the glass and also posted a 38-26 advantage in points in the paint in the victory.

Both teams host GNAC foes in 3:00 PM starts on Saturday, as Saint Joseph's faces Norwich University and Lasell takes on reigning GNAC Champion Albertus Magnus College.

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.