STANDISH, Maine – Husson University (1-0) defeated Saint Joseph's College (1-1), 84-75, in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. The game was the season-opener for the Eagles and home-opener for the Monks.
FIRST GLANCE:
Saint Joseph's freshman guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) tallied team-highs of 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7-12 from the field in the loss to the Eagles, who pulled away late with a 13-2 run en route to securing the nine-point win.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Husson scored 20 points off 23 Saint Joseph's turnovers while the Monks netted 11 points off the Eagles' 16 miscues on the afternoon.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Husson held a 48-44 lead heading into intermission and extended the advantage to nine points (62-53) when freshman guard DJ Bussey (Peoria, Ariz.) drilled a three-pointer at the 14:16 mark. Over the following seven minutes Saint Joseph's chipped away at the deficit with a 13-5 run as a Ryan Lavallee (Carver, Mass.) jumper made it a 67-66 game.
The complexion of the contest quickly changed however, as the Eagles responded with a 13-2 surge of their own, with a Justin Thompson (East Millinocket, Maine) trifecta extending the visitors' advantage to a game-high 12 points (80-68) with 4:01 left.
CAPTURE THE CUP:
With the victory, Husson earns the honor of being the first team to take home the Alumni Cup, which is bestowed upon the winner of the rivalry matchup every season going forward. Today's game counts as the first in the Alumni Cup series.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Senior forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) contributed 14 points with six rebounds and a pair of assists
- Senior forward Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) was 7-10 from the floor with 14 points
LEADERS – HUSSON:
- Senior guard Raheem Anderson (Miramar, Fla.) registered a double-double with game-highs in points (27) and rebounds (10) while dishing out four assists and making all 10 free throw attempts
- Bussey was 4-7 from downtown and netted 14 points
- Junior forward Justin Martin (Winslow, Maine) added 13 points and five boards
TEAM STATS:
Husson held the lead in rebounds (32-31), assists (14-13), points off turnovers (20-11), and second-chance points (17-6) while Saint Joseph's posted advantages in points in the paint (34-28) and bench points (32-21).
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 36-49 in the history of the series with Husson University and has now dropped six-consecutive games at the hands of the Eagles.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at UMaine-Farmington on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
#GOMONKS
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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.
