STANDISH, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College men's basketball team kicked off the 2017-18 season last night with an 82-75 victory at Maine Maritime Academy.
The contest versus the Mariners starts a 25-game regular-season docket for the Monks, who went 13-13 overall with a 10-8 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) record last winter.
STARTS AT THE TOP:
Sanicola has registered three 20-win seasons and 10 winning campaigns during his tenure. Since his first year, when he took over a team featuring just three returners and a daunting schedule, Coach Sanicola has sported an outstanding .638 winning percentage and carries a 226-154 career record into his 15th season. In 10 years as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), the Monks have posted a 116-64 (.644) record versus conference foes and have advanced to the postseason every year, including 2009 when his team defeated Emmanuel College in the GNAC Championship en route to earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN:
For the second-consecutive season, junior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) will serve as the Monks' lone team captain.
WHERE WE LEFT OFF:
Saint Joseph's earned the #5 seed in the GNAC Tournament and faced #4 Mount Ida College in a conference quarterfinal on February 21st. Despite posting their second-highest field goal (52.8%) and free throw (91.7%) efforts of the season, the Monks suffered a season-ending 91-83 setback at the hands of the Mustangs in a game that featured nine lead changes and 10 tie scores.
DEARLY DEPARTED:
The Monks lost two players from last year's roster – departed seniors John Crawley and Andrew Ruffen – a duo that combined to tally 350 points, 150 rebounds, 56 assists, and 19 steals last season.
KEY RETURNERS:
Junior forward Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.), a 2017 Second Team All-GNAC honoree, headlines the Monks' five returning starters after leading the team in scoring (10.8 PPG), three-pointers made (39), and three-point percentage (40.2%) as a sophomore.
Senior post players Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) and Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) will man the paint again for the Monks this winter. Richardson-Newton, a 2016 All-Conference honoree, averaged 9.5 points with a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game while Hall contributed 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while leading the squad in field goal percentage (58.8%).
Junior guards Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) and Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) will once again head up the Monks' backcourt. Mileikis netted 10.1 points per game and paced the Royal Blue in assists (79) and steals (27) last year. Berry, who missed the better part of the season with an injury, averaged 11.3 points per game while shooting 41% (41-100) from the field and 77.3% (17-22) from the stripe, in 10 games last winter.
Junior forward Jae Johns (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), who averaged 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as a key reserve last season, and sophomore guard Mario Nery (Bronx, N.Y.), who contributed 5.8 points per game as a freshman, will both be asked to log valuable minutes this winter. Sophomore Ryan Lavallee (Carver, Mass.), a 6'8" forward, figures to work his way into the rotation with a year of college basketball under his belt.
NEWCOMERS TO WATCH:
Freshman guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) headlines a group of eight newcomers who figure to add depth and athleticism to a veteran squad. Casale garnered SMAA Player of the Year, Maine McDonald's All Star, and All-State honors after averaging 20 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists during his senior season at Cheverus High School.
Point guards Tatsuaki Sakai (Japan), who played prep at Saint Thomas More, and Jack Hostetler (Somers, Conn.), a transfer from New England College, will also see time off the bench this season.
Freshman forward Kevin Baker (Franklin, Mass.), a three-year starter at Xaverian Brothers High School, will also play a role this winter. Sophomore forward Michael Bradley (Framingham, Mass.) could emerge as an impact player after suffering several injuries and appearing in just eight games during his freshman campaign.
GAMES TO SEE:
Saturday, November 18th vs. Husson: The Monks' home-opener (3:00 PM) and first installment of the Alumni Cup series, in which the winner of each year's contest between the Monks and Eagles will take home the Cup. Including last season's 75-54 win, Husson has defeated Saint Joseph's in five-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2012-13 campaign.
Sunday, November 26th vs. USM: Saint Joseph's and Southern Maine clash in the Annual Costello Cup matchup, a game that was won by USM last winter (74-72 in Gorham). The Monks own a 16-12 record in the history of the Cup series and look to reclaim the trophy in front of a home crowd in a Sunday night contest starting at 7:30 PM.
Tuesday, January 9th vs. Johnson & Wales: The Monks look to snap an eight-game skid at the hands of the Wildcats, a team St. Joe's last defeated on January 20th, 2014 in Providence.
Saturday, February 17th vs. Norwich: The regular-season finale (3:00 PM) will be the Monks 14th-consecutive GNAC contest and figures to have postseason implications for both teams. Saint Joseph's will also honor the program's two seniors – Richardson-Newton and Hall – with a ceremony before tip-off.
CLOSER LOOK AT THE 2017-18 SCHEDULE/OPPONENTS:
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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 474-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.
