STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (11-9, 9-5 GNAC) defeated Suffolk University (7-14, 4-9 GNAC), 76-69, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday night. Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) posted his eighth double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
Tonight's game, which featured 17 lead changes and 11 tie scores, was one of the most tightly-contested tilts of the season, as neither team owned more than a seven-point lead and the game was not decided until the final minutes. Trailing 66-64 with 3:28 remaining, the Monks produced the final score swing of the night with a 12-3 run, a stretch that included an 8-10 performance from the free throw line and ultimately clinched the conference triumph.
For Saint Joseph's, senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) tallied 14 points and five rebounds, freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) added 11 points and five boards, and junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) contributed eight points in the victory.
Junior guard Branden Barboza (Riverside, R.I.) led all Suffolk scorers with 21 points while junior forward Jake Meister (Madison, N.J.) netted 19 with a team-high eight rebounds and junior guard Caleb Unni (Winchester, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points in a losing effort.
The Rams led 9-4 after four players connected on shots in the opening three minutes of play, but the Monks rebounded with eight unanswered points – including threes from Simonds and Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) - to claim their first lead of the night. Unni and Meister connected on three-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to lift Suffolk to a 15-12 edge with 14:52 left in the opening frame, and the see-saw battle continued, as the lead changed hands four times leading up to the break, when the Rams held a 37-36 advantage.
Simonds led all first-half scorers with 14 points while Meister and Unni netted 12 points apiece for the Rams in the opening 20 minutes.
The Monks started the second stanza with an 8-3 run as the Royal Blue held a 44-40 lead after Luschenat drained a three-pointer with 18:02 on the game clock. Seven lead changes ensued over the following 12 minutes, a span during which neither team held more than a five-point cushion.
Junior guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) and Barboza swapped layups during a 90-second window to make the score 66-64 in favor of the visitors with 3:49 left. Blodgett then kicked off the previously mentioned 12-3 run with a freebie and a layup, lifting the hosts to a lead that would not be relinquished.
The closing seconds proved to be tenuous as well, as the Rams cut their deficit to 71-69 when Meister banked in a long three-pointer from the right with 33 seconds left. With the help of a 6-6 free-throw shooting performance in the final minute from Simonds, the Monks were able to hold off the visitors and claim an important conference victory.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-2 all-time versus Suffolk University, a team the Monks have defeated in four-consecutive meetings.
Due to several weather-related postponements, these two teams will face off again tomorrow evening at 6:00 PM in Boston.
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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.
