NEW LONDON, N.H. – Saint Joseph's College (5-13, 4-6 GNAC) edged Colby-Sawyer College (6-10, 3-7 GNAC), 94-90 in overtime, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks held the lead for most of the contest and carried a 45-34 cushion into intermission. St. Joe's seemed to have the game in hand after junior forward Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) made a layup to lift the visitors to a game-high 15-point (62-47) lead with 12:49 left in the second half, but the Chargers posted a late run to force extra play.
Trailing 81-70 with 2:03 remaining, Colby-Sawyer took advantage of poor ball security by the Monks to score 11 unanswered points and tie the game at 81-apiece. Saint Joseph's committed three turnovers during the Charger run.
Both teams had an opportunity to avoid the five-minute OT period. With Colby-Sawyer down 81-80 and 10 seconds left, junior Scott Lampron (Concord, N.H.) went to the line and hit the first freebie but missed the second. Shea had a chance to lift the Monks to a last-second victory with a layup at the buzzer, but the attempt was off target.
The Chargers gained their largest lead of the evening – three points – and first advantage since the opening minutes when junior forward Omar Boone (Colorado City, Texas) made a layup with 2:27 left in OT, but the Monks managed to put the game away with three-pointers from Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) and Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) in the final minute.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's held a 46-36 lead in points in the paint and outshot Colby-Sawyer by over 10 percentage points with a 53.4% (39-73) clip…The Chargers shot 42.7% (32-75) from the floor in the setback.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) led all players with 26 points and added six rebounds, four assists, and two steals
- Curtis netted 20 points off a 6-for-12 three-point shooting effort and dealt seven assists
- Shea put on a clinic in the paint with an impressive double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds
- Freshman Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) contributed 14 points and three rebounds
- Junior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) came off the bench to tally nine points and three assists
LEADERS – COLBY-SAWYER:
- Freshman swingman Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) registered 22 points, six boards, three assists and a pair of steals
- Boone scored 19 points with six rebounds
- Lampron added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals
- Junior guard Zack Caraballo (Salem, N.H.) contributed 10 points, three caroms, and three assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-3 all-time versus Colby-Sawyer College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Emmanuel College on Saturday in a GNAC contest slated to start at 3:00 PM.
