STANDISH, Maine - #9 Albertus Magnus College (15-1, 10-0 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (8-8, 6-4 GNAC), 80-66, in a rematch of the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Championship at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) notched his fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

The conference rivals swapped the lead on six occasions in the first half as the Monks would not face no worse than a seven-point deficit for the entirety of the opening frame. Saint Joseph's employed a 13-1 run early in the second stanza, an effort that cut the Falcons' lead to 49-48 with 14:03 remaining, but Albertus immediately followed with a 20-3 run to all but clinch the conference victory.

Albertus Magnus senior forward Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) led all contributors with 25 points and 14 boards in recording his 10th double-double of the year. The 6'8" post player added five blocked shots, four steals and three assists in the victory.

Saint Joseph's junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) scored a career-high 21 points with three assists and was 7-8 from three-point distance on the afternoon. The first-year starter was 5-6 from downtown in the second half.

Leading 42-35 at the break, Albertus quickly obtained the first double-digit cushion of the day as Ljuljdjuraj grabbed a loose ball and dunked on a fast break and junior guard James Jennings (Bridgeport, Conn.) drilled a three 1:14 into the latter half to stake the visitors to a 47-35 lead.

The Monks answered with the aforementioned 13-1 scoring surge, which was capped with a Christien Morneweck (Burlington, Mass.) layup and cut the hosts' deficit down to just one point with 14 minutes to play.

Unfortunately for Saint Joseph's, the complexion of the contest turned south over the following nine minutes, a span during which the Falcons posted a 17-point advantage while shooting 8-12 from the field. In the meantime, the Monks were 1-9 from the floor with four turnovers as Albertus owned a 69-51 lead after the dust settled with 5:35 on the game clock.

St. Joe's fought to remain within striking distance and cut the Falcons' advantage to 12 (75-63) after Luschenat drilled a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions, but the Monks would get no closer as the teams essentially traded buckets down the stretch.

For the Monks, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) scored nine points with five rebounds and three assists, freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) added eight points and five caroms, and senior guard Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in with five points and four assists on the afternoon.

Including Ljuljdjuraj, all five of the Falcons' starters posted double-digit scoring totals, as senior guard Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) tallied 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, senior forward Lamar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) added 14 points and seven boards, senior guard Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) totaled 10 points, nine assists and six caroms, and Jennings added 10 points during 10 minutes on the floor.

Although the result did not go their way, the Monks can take some solace in the fact that the Falcons' point total in today's contest is the fewest they have scored in a victory all season.

With the loss, the Monks fall to 8-10 all-time versus the Falcons, who have won four of the last five GNAC titles and advanced all the way to the NCAA DIII Tournament "Sweet 16" last winter.

Saint Joseph's returns to the court on Tuesday night with a home contest versus Bates College starting at 7:00 PM. Albertus is also back in action Tuesday when the team hosts GNAC foe Mount Ida College in a 7:00 PM contest.

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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.