BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College (8-3, 4-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-10, 2-3 GNAC), 87-77, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Emmanuel raced out to a 12-4 lead in the opening four minutes, but – after a timeout - Saint Joseph's posted an 11-4 run and trailed by just one point after senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) capped the surge with a trifecta with 14:04 left in the first half.
The Monks tied the game at 21-apiece just over three minutes later when senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) hit a jump shot and maintained a two-possession deficit for the better part of the first half. The hosts held a 47-44 edge heading into intermission.
The visitors claimed their first lead of the afternoon 2:41 into the second stanza, when Curtis drilled a three-pointer to put his team on top, 55-53. Emmanuel countered with a 10-3 outbreak and held at least a five-point lead for the rest of the game.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Emmanuel shot 55.9% (33-59) from the floor with considerable leads in points in the paint (48-24) and bench points (46-9) in the conference triumph.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Foley led all players with 28 points and added five assists, three rebounds, and two blocked shots in the loss
- Curtis scored 24 points with four rebounds
- Sophomore guard Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) tallied eight points, five rebounds, and five assists
LEADERS – EMMANUEL:
- Sophomore guard Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) led five Emmanuel players in double-digits with 18 points
- Sophomore guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and dealt five assists in the victory
- Sophomore forward Eljay Morris (London, England) was 6-for-8 from the field with 15 points
- Sophomore guard Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) added 11 points, five assists, and three rebounds
- Graduate guard Zach Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, three assists, three steals, and a pair of caroms
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 19-9 all-time versus Emmanuel College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Norwich University next Saturday in a GNAC contest slated to start at 3:00 PM.
