STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (18-7, 7-4 GNAC) defeated Colby-Sawyer College (13-12, 7-4 GNAC), 100-84, in a non-conference men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.
TOURNEY TIME:
Saint Joseph's has clinched the #6 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament and will play at Johnson & Wales University, which defeated Emmanuel College this afternoon to earn the #3 seed, in quarterfinal action on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.
Colby-Sawyer is the #5 seed and will play at #4 Emmanuel on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks opened the contest with a 10-2 run and held a 17-5 cushion after senior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) made a layup with 13:25 left in the first half. The Chargers chipped away at the deficit and cut the hosts' lead to 25-22 five minutes later, but the Monks effectively put the game out of reach with a 17-3 offensive surge over a three-minute span – which featured five three-pointers - to secure a 42-25 lead at the 5:44 mark.
Saint Joseph's held a 52-35 advantage at intermission and went on to take a game-high 25-point (68-43) lead after senior guard Jack Hostetler (Somers, Conn.) drilled a three-pointer with 14:41 remaining in the second stanza.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the contest a brief ceremony was held to honor the Monks' six seniors: Mileikis, Hostetler, Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.), Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.), Andrew Carroll (Douglas, Mass.), and Noah Estey (Raymond, Maine).
With this group of seniors on the court, Saint Joseph's has posted a 55-48 (.534) overall record with a 33-30 (.524) mark in conference play and four GNAC Tournament appearances. Mileikis, Hostetler, Berry, Corey and Carroll have collectively scored 3,279 points with 1,227 rebounds and 719 assists in 103 contests over the last four seasons.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks held considerable advantages in three-pointers made (17-6) and bench points (40-19) in the victory…St. Joe's tallied 27 assists on 35 field goals.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Berry scored a game-high 22 points with three rebounds and a pair of assists
- Sophomore guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) registered his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds
- Hostetler was 5-for-7 from three-point range with 18 points and four assists
- Mileikis added 15 points, four rebounds, and six assists and was 5-for-6 from both the field and the FT line
- Freshman guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) came off the bench to score 13 points with three boards and a pair of assists
LEADERS – COLBY-SAWYER:
- Junior center Dana Bean (Franklin, N.H.) notched a double-double – his 11th of the season - with 19 points and 13 rebounds
- Sophomore guard Jake Carrier (Manchester, N.H.) added 14 points
- Senior guard Jourdain Bell (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in with 13 points, five boards, and two assists
- Junior forward Patrick Coffey (Westford, Mass.) scored 12 points with four caroms and five assists
- Freshman guard Terrence Harvey, Jr. (Smyrna, Ga.) came off the bench to score 10 points with four assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 3-2 all-time versus Colby-Sawyer College.
