STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (5-4, 3-0 GNAC) kicked off the New Year with an 82-65 victory over Mount Ida College (1-9, 0-4 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night. Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals in the triumph.
Saint Joseph's held the lead for the vast majority of play but Mount Ida, which netted 23 points off 13 SJC turnovers in a losing effort, maintained a two-possession deficit for the better part of the first half and threatened to claim the lead on a pair of occasions in the second stanza. Both times, the Monks responded with scoring runs to stave off the feisty Mustangs and remain undefeated in conference play.
The Monks shot 65.2% (15-23) from the field in the second half – 51.9% (28-54) overall – and posted a 94.7% (18-19) free throw shooting performance in the victory. Simonds, scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, led the impressive charity stripe effort by making all 12 of his attempts from the line.
Leading 35-27 at the break, Saint Joseph's saw the cushion dwindle down to one point (46-45) after Mustangs freshman forward Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play 5:42 into the latter half. The Monks answered with nine unanswered points, as Simonds and freshman Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) combined to go 6-6 from the free throw line and sophomore guard Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) connected on a three to help the hosts claim a 55-45 advantage with 11:27 left.
Trailing 60-51 after Simonds drilled a three-pointer 83 seconds later, Mount Ida fought back into contention with five straight points from sophomore guard Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) to cut the margin down to 60-56 with 7:59 on the clock.
Head Coach Rob Sanicola '99 called for a timeout after Dujon made it a four-point game with a fast break layup on a turnover and the information relayed by the 12th-year leader must have hit home, as the Royal Blue proceeded to put the game out of reach with a 14-0 run during a four-minute span. Simonds scored nine points during the offensive outbreak and put the finishing touches on the impressive run by making a pair of freebies, extending the hosts' advantage to 74-56 with 4:32 remaining.
Simonds extended the Monks' lead to 20 (82-62) with two free throws at the 3:29 mark as the hosts owned at least a 17-point cushion for the remainder of the conference contest.
For the Monks, Richardson-Newton tallied 12 points and six boards, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) added 11 points, and junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) netted nine points. Senior guard Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) and junior guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) contributed seven points apiece on the evening.
Freshman guard Jayson Clark (Austin, Texas) paced the Mustangs with 18 points and six assists while Dujon netted 13 points and freshman forward Patrick McKearney (Avon, Conn.) chipped in with nine points and four caroms in a losing bid.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 16-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College.
Both teams resume GNAC play on Thursday, when the Monks travel to Johnson & Wales University for a 7:00 PM tip-off and the Mustangs host Anna Maria College in a 6:00 PM start.
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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.
