WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Freshman guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Saint Joseph's College (4-8) past SUNY Poly (6-7), 89-74, in an Eastern Connecticut State University Holiday Invitational men's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In the lead for the entire game, the Monks built a 14-point (35-21) advantage after sophomore John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) capped a 14-6 run with a trifecta at the 6:47 mark and headed into intermission with a 46-32 cushion. Wani and grad forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) led the Royal Blue with 10 points apiece in the opening 20 minutes.
St. Joe's seemed to be in cruise control and achieved a 20-point lead when Wani hit a jump shot to make it a 71-51 game with 11:31 left in the second stanza. SUNY Poly fought back into contention with a 14-0 run spanning the subsequent three minutes, as Anthony Rose – who netted seven during the surge – capped the outbreak with a pair of freebies and his Wildcats trailing by six (71-65).
The Monks responded in a dominant manner with an 18-2 outburst, which was closed out with a Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) bucket and Saint Joseph's holding a game-high 22-point (89-67) lead with 3:10 left.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks shot 40.7% (11-27) from three-point range and held advantages in second chance points (20-11), fast break points (10-2), and bench points (16-8) in the triumph.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Wani netted 25 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists and added two steals and a blocked shot while making 5-of-6 shots from the FT line
- Frazier added 16 points and three rebounds
- Abbott was 6-for-8 from the field with 14 points and three boards
- Donato chipped in with 13 points, seven caroms, and a pair of blocks
- Senior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) came off the bench to tally six points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot
LEADERS – SUNY POLY:
- Rose scored a game-high 27 points with 11 rebounds and two steals
- Cheickne Toure scored 19 points with two rebounds, two steals, and a pair of rejections
- LJ Randle chipped in with 10 points and four boards
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 1-1 all-time versus SUNY Poly – these two teams last met in a tournament at Union College on November 27th, 2022 when the Wildcats notched a 79-61 triumph over the Monks.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Bates College on Tuesday in a non-conference contest set to begin at 7:00 PM.
