TANDISH, Maine – #2N Saint Joseph's College (15-11) will play at #1S University of Saint Joseph (26-0) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal on Friday at 7:00 PM.

OVERVIEW:

Friday's winner advances to the GNAC Championship and will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup between #2S Albertus Magnus College and #1N Emmanuel College on Sunday, time TBD. The higher seeded will host the title bout.

The GNAC Champion earns an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA DIII Men's Basketball Championship, which begins on March 3rd.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Saint Joseph's defeated Regis College, the #3 seed in the South Division, 79-63, in a GNAC quarterfinal on Tuesday night. The victory was the program's first home tourney triumph since 2015 when St. Joe's edged Lasell University in overtime, 84-77, in quarterfinal action.

The Monks shot 53.8% (28-52) overall, including a 50% (9-18) effort from beyond the arc in the triumph. Sophomore guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including a 4-for-5 effort from downtown, with five rebounds in 16 minutes

University of Saint Joseph routed #4N Anna Maria College, 101-62, in a GNAC quarterfinal contest on Tuesday night in West Hartford. The Blue Jays were red-hot shooting on the night, connecting on 52.1% (38-73) of their attempts from the field, including 45.8% (11-24) from three, en route to scoring a season-high 101 points.

Graduate student Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) paced the Blue Jays in the victory, netting an efficient game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, in just 19 minutes of floor time.

BRACKETOLOGY:

Tuesday, February 21 - QUARTERFINALS

GAME 1: #1N Emmanuel def. #4S JWU, 74-63 BOX
GAME 2: #2S Albertus Magnus def. #3N Colby-Sawyer, 128-74 BOX
GAME 3: #2N Saint Joseph's Maine def. #3S Regis, 79-63 BOX
GAME 4: #1S St. Joseph CT def. #4N Anna Maria, 101-62 BOX

Friday, February 24 - SEMIFINALS

GAME 5: #2S Albertus Magnus @ #1N Emmanuel, 7:00 PM
GAME 6: #2N Saint Joseph's Maine @ #1S University of Saint Joseph, 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 25 - CHAMPIONSHIP

GAME 7: at highest remaining seed

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks lead the conference in three pointers made (11.0) and attempted (30.6) per game as well as assists average (17.8) and rank second in FG% (46.2%), third in points (2,050) scoring average (78.8), and 3FG% (35.5%), and fourth in FG made per game (29.2)
• Six different SJC players are averaging at least 6.4 points per game, including four who average north of 10.0 PPG
• Saint Joseph's has made 10 or more three-pointers in 18 different games this winter
• St. Joe's has won seven of the last nine games
• The Monks are 3-8 and average 75.5 PPG in road games this season

University of Saint Joseph:

• The Blue Jays have been ranked as the top team in the nation in the D3hoops.com weekly poll for nine-consecutive weeks and sit atop the NCAA DIII Region I Rankings for the second week in a row
• USJ has not suffered a setback at the hands of a GNAC opponent since falling to Albertus Magnus in the 2019 conference championship, 81-77, on February 23, 2019 – a string of 54 games
• The Blue Jays have won 29-consecutive home games and are averaging 88.3 points in 13 contests at James A. Calhoun Gymnasium
• Six USJ players are averaging at least 7.0 PPG, including a pair who net 11.5 or better per contest; the Blue Jays' roster features 10 seniors and graduate students
• University of Saint Joseph leads the GNAC in FG% (47.0%), 3FG% (39.9%), FT made (16.5) and attempted (23.5) per game, fewest turnovers per game (12.4), steals per game (10.0), PPG allowed (58.4), opponents' FG% (35.4%), and opponents' 3FG% (27.2%)

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Saint Joseph's:

• (#20)Graduate student guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) leads four Monks in double-digits with 14.6 points per game and ranks among the GNAC leaders in assists (112, 3rd), field goals made (138, 6th), free throws made (76, 8th), points (379, 9th), and scoring average (14.6, 10th)
• (#35) Senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) averages 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game and ranks ninth in the conference in FG% (52.0%)
• (#24) Freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) is averaging 12.0 PPG and leads the GNAC – and ranks fourth in NCAA DIII - with a 48.7% (55-113) 3FG%
• (#3) Graduate guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) is netting 10.4 PPG and ranks third in the GNAC in three-pointers made (58); he recently became the Monks' all-time leader in three-point field goals made (315) and is just the 11th player in program history to score 1,500 career points

University of Saint Joseph:

• (#0) Graduate guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) averages 15.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and ranks second in the GNAC in 3FG% (43.2%, 57-132), fourth in FT made (86) and FT% (83.5%), and sixth in points (405)
• (#14) Senior guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.), a 2022 Second Team All-American, is scoring 11.5 PPG while averaging 3.1 RPG and 3.2 APG and ranks sixth in the league in assists (84) and steals (46)
• (#1) Senior guard Delshawn Jackson, Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) contributes 9.9 PPG and has the fifth highest 3FG% (41.5%, 34-82) in the GNAC
• (#11) Graduate forward Alec Kinder (West Haven, Conn.) averages 7.5 points and 8.4 caroms per contest and is second in the conference in FG% (58.1%, 79-136), third in total rebounds (218), fifth in RPG (8.4), and sixth in blocked shots (33)

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's: Tyler Ackley – 2nd season (24-29, .452)

Tyler Ackley was named as the fifth head coach in the history of the Monks Men's Basketball program in September 2021. After overseeing the Royal Blue to a 9-18 overall record – and a 2-9 mark in home games – last season, Coach Ackley has led the Monks to their first over-.500 record since 2019 and a much-improved 10-2 mark at the Harold Alfond Center.

Ackley comes to Saint Joseph's from Colby College, where he served as The John "Swisher" Mitchell Assistant Coach for four years and, in 2020, helped lead the Mules to their first-ever NESCAC Championship game appearance, as well as their first NCAA Tournament berth in 23 years.

Prior to his time at Colby, Coach Ackley was a three-year assistant coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he recruited and coached seven players who combined to earn 14 all-conference honors, including a Jostens Award winner, three D3hoops.com All-Americans and the Conference's Most Valuable Player and NCAA Division III Final Four MVP.

University of Saint Joseph: Glen Miller (19th Season, 2nd as Head Coach at USJ; 282-211, .572)

Glen Miller – former Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach at the University of Connecticut – is in his first season as Head Coach at USJ in 2021-22 after three seasons as full-time Associate Head Coach.

In his first season as the Blue Jays' clipboard carrier in 2021-22, Miller guided USJ to a 26-2 record and the program's second-consecutive GNAC Championship. He was selected as the 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Joining the Saint Joseph staff in October 2017, Miller began working immediately alongside hall of famer Jim Calhoun on building USJ's first-ever men's basketball program, a program that reached the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship with an all-freshman starting five. They followed it up with their first GNAC Title in 2020, and played in the NCAA Div. III Tournament in Springfield, Mass.

Miller brings an extensive and highly successful coaching background to the Blue Jays. He spent 14 years on staff at the University of Connecticut, including the previous seven since returning to UConn in 2010-11, after head coaching stints at Connecticut College, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

THE LAST TIME WE MET (USJ 100, SJC 73, West Hartford, 1/14/23):

The Monks faced a five-point (37-32) deficit at halftime and trailed 65-61 after senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) hit a jump shot with 10:06 left in the second stanza. The wheels quickly fell off however, as the Blue Jays netted 14 unanswered points in just over two minutes.

The USJ outburst, which gave the hosts a 79-61 cushion with 7:53 remaining, proved to be part of a larger dominant stretch as the Blue Jays outscored the Monks by a 35-12 margin in the closing 10 minutes of play.

University of Saint Joseph used the long ball to put Saint Joseph's away as the hosts made 9-of-17 attempts from downtown in the second half alone. The Blue Jays also held advantages in points off turnovers (24-13), second chance points (25-4), and points in the paint (50-30) on the afternoon.

Freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored a season-high 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting from three-point distance with six rebounds. For the Blue Jays, Ryan O'Neill poured in 34 points with eight rebounds and two steals.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is 1-5 all-time versus University of Saint Joseph and has fallen to the Blue Jays in five-consecutive meetings.

GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

The Monks have never missed the GNAC Tournament in 15 seasons as a member of the conference and have won at least one postseason contest in 10 of the last 12 trips. Saint Joseph's is 13-12 in GNAC tourney play with a GNAC Championship in 2009 and appearances in the title game in 2011 and 2014.

University of Saint Joseph has played in each of the last three GNAC Championship games, as the Blue Jays fell to Albertus Magnus in 2019 and claimed their first conference crown with an 88-84 title bout triumph over the Falcons in 2020. USJ toppled Albertus, 94-67, in the 2022 GNAC Championship.

Friday's tourney matchup marks the third time the Blue Jays and Monks have met in the conference tournament. USJ edged SJC in a 2019 semifinal, 91-86, in Standish and cruised past the Monks to the tune of a 95-45 score in a quarterfinal in West Hartford last February.