WATERVILLE, ME - The Saint Joseph's College Men's Basketball team (3-4) kicked off the 2008 portion of their schedule in exciting fashion as they defeated in-state rival Colby College (7-3), 85-83 with a last second 60 foot shot by FY Eric Friend (Portland, ME/Cheverus HS). Both Friend and JR Elbie Murphy (Loudonville, NY) scored 20 points for the Monks in the victory. Junior guard Artie Cutrone led Colby with 24 points.

The game didn't start well for the Monks as the Mules scored on their first four possessions and led 10-0 after two-and-a-half minutes. Colby's Cutrone scored 8 points in this span, including two 3-pointers. The Monks responded and were able to get the ball down the court quickly against the Mules' pressure, allowing Eric Friend to score the team's first 8 points on four layups to bring St. Joe's back into the game.

The Mules held the lead for the entire first half and were ahead by as much as twelve points. The Monks trimmed the defecit to 3 points going into halftime, 39-42, when JR Scot Vachon (Schenectady, NY) made a layup as time expired going into the break.

The tug of war for the lead began in the second half when Elbie Murphy made a layup to put the Monks ahead for the first time, 53-51, at the 15:09 mark. Neither team held more than a two point advantage for the next 10 minutes of play until Colby's Artie Cutrone converted a three point play after being fouled on a layup to put his team up by five, 68-63, with 4:56 remaining. SO Alberto Rue (Jamaica Plain, MA) hit his first 3-pointer of the game on the Monks' next possession to bring his team back within two points, as Colby led 68-66 at the 4:40 mark.

Colby went on to extend their lead to nine points, 76-67, after junior guard Mac Simpson made two free throw attempts with 1:43 remaining in the game. On the Monks' next trip down the floor, Alberto Rue nailed a 3-pointer at 1:34 to make it a two possession game for St. Joe's and cut Colby's lead to 76-70. After the Mules' Cutrone made 1 of 2 free throw attempts to extend their lead to 7 points, Eric Friend came thru yet again for SJC with a 3 pointer to cut the Mules' lead to 4 points, 77-73, with 1:02 on the clock.

Layups from Elbie Murphy and SO Ray Eatmon (Huntington, NY) kept the Monks within three points as Colby led 80-77 with 33 seconds left. Murphy created a turnover and drove the length of the court, was fouled on a layup bid and made both free throw attempts to cut the Colby lead to 80-79 with 19 seconds remaining. After the Mules missed two free throws, the Monks grabbed the lead, 82-80, when Alberto Rue hit his third clutch 3-pointer in the final five minutes of the game.

On the Mules' next drive, Senior guard Mark Gaudet was fouled while attempting a 3 point shot and made all three free throw attempts to put his team ahead, 83-82 with :01 left on the game clock. After a time out by the Mules, Eric Friend took the inbounds pass from Ray Eatmon, turned and nailed a miraculous 60 foot shot to give the Monks the victory, 85-83.

Colby was led by Cutrone, who had 24 points. Mac Simpson scored 15 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists while Michael Russell scored 15 and added 12 boards in the Mules' loss. Colby's Adam Choice blocked 5 shots and grabbed 3 steals in the game.

For the Monks, Eric Friend had the best game of his young career with 20 points as he shot 9-12 from the floor, 2-4 from 3 point distance, and blocked 2 shots in the game. Friend was key in the transition game as he hustled up and down the court to help create scoring opportunities. Elbie Murphy also scored 20 and added 6 boards, 3 blocked shots, 2 steals and made 5-6 free throw attempts. Defensively, Murphy held Mules' guard Mark Gaudet (15.0 PPG) to only 8 points in the game. Ray Eatmon continued his strong play with 12 points and a game high 14 rebounds in the victory. Eatmon also played a very strong game on defense as he held Colby forward Adam Choice (17.1 PPG) to 11 points. Alberto Rue came off the bench to play a very productive 13 minutes, scoring 13 points and making 3-4 three-point attempts. The Monks shooters shot 40% from beyond the arc and made 17-21 free throw attempts in the contest while Colby made 32% of their 3-point shots and 54% of their free throws (15-28), including 6-13 in the final minute of the game.

The contest marked the 11th meeting between the teams on the hard court with Colby now holding a 7-4 record against the Monks.

Saint Joseph's vs Colby
1/3/07 7 p.m. at Waterville, Maine

SAINT JOSEPH'S 85, COLBY 83

SAINT JOSEPH'S (3-4)
Elbie Murphy 6-13 5-6 20; Eric Friend 9-12 0-0 20; Alberto Rue 4-7 2-2 13;
Raymond Eatmon 5-11 2-2 12; Scot Vachon 2-8 2-2 6; Chris Davis 2-5 2-4 6;
Anthony Savino 0-0 4-4 4; Mitch Ouellet 1-6 0-0 2; Alonso Davis 1-1 0-1 2;
Tyler Kelley 0-2 0-0 0; Bobby Russo 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 17-21 85.

COLBY (7-3)
Artie Cutrone 9-15 4-8 24; Michael Russell 7-9 1-2 15; Mac Simpson 5-15 5-10
15; Adam Choice 4-9 2-5 11; Mark Gaudet 2-9 3-3 8; Christian van Loenen 2-3
0-0 6; Preston Decker 1-4 0-0 2; Justin Sherman 1-3 0-0 2; Nick Planeta 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 31-67 15-28 83.

Saint Joseph's.................. 39 46 - 85
Colby......................... 42 41 - 83

3-point goals-Saint Joseph's 8-20 (Elbie Murphy 3-7; Alberto Rue 3-4; Eric
Friend 2-4; Chris Davis 0-1; Tyler Kelley 0-2; Bobby Russo 0-2), Colby 6-19
(Christian van Loenen 2-2; Artie Cutrone 2-4; Adam Choice 1-2; Mark Gaudet
1-5; Mac Simpson 0-6).

Fouled out--Saint Joseph's-None, Colby-None.

Rebounds-Saint Joseph's 37 (Raymond Eatmon 14), Colby 45 (Michael Russell 12).

Assists-Saint Joseph's 20 (Raymond Eatmon 5; Scot Vachon 5), Colby 17 (Mac
Simpson 6).

Total fouls-Saint Joseph's 18, Colby 16.

A-250