WESTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College (9-2) scored 10 unanswered points in the closing 62 seconds to defeat Saint Joseph's College (3-7), 96-91, in non-conference play Thursday night at the 2020 Catholic Colleges Classic hosted by Regis College.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's trailed 45-35 going into intermission but effectively chipped away at the Emmanuel advantage and earned the lead – the Monks' first of the evening – when sophomore guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) grabbed a loose ball and drilled a fast-break three-pointer, making it a 62-61 game with 12:44 remaining.
Over the subsequent nine minutes, the non-conference tilt featured 10 lead changes with six tie scores as neither team held more than a four-point advantage until Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) and Curtis hit three-pointers on consecutive SJC possessions to lift the Royal Blue to an 89-83 lead with 1:48 on the clock.
On the team's following respective trips down the floor, Emmanuel junior Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play to make it a one possession contest and SJC junior guard Tatsuaki Sakai (Ishikawa, Japan) to extend his team's lead (91-86) to a two-trip proposition with 1:22 left.
The Saints' shooters came up clutch in the final minute-plus, as sophomore Giovanni Ciampa (Tewksbury, Mass.) made a three-pointer at the 1:02 mark and Crisafulli drained another trifecta with 27 seconds remaining to put his team on top to stay. Emmanuel went 4-for-4 from the FT line in the closing seconds to clinch the victory.
The Saints kicked off the contest with a 13-0 run and led by as many as 19 points in the first half.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Saints were lights-out from the charity stripe, with an 85.0% (17-20) success rate at the line and held an 8-0 lead in second-chance points on the evening.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Curtis turned in another outstanding performance with 26 points while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor, including a 6-for-10 effort from downtown
- Junior guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) added 22 points, seven assists, and four rebounds
- Foley contributed 15 points, three assists, and three caroms
- Sakai tallied 11 points, five assists, four steals, and three boards
LEADERS – EMMANUEL:
- Junior Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) registered a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds
- Crisafulli netted 23 points and was 9-for-13 from the field
- Senior Emmett Riddick (Middletown, Conn.) chipped in with 12 points, four assists, and three boards
- Junior Jack Moulder (Newtown, Conn.) added 11 points and two assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 18-7 all-time versus Emmanuel College and has suffered losses in consecutive meetings at the hands of the Saints for the first time in the history of the matchup.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will face Rivier University tomorrow at 1:00 PM in the team's second of two games in the Catholic Classic at Regis.
