MEN'S BASKETBALL: Emmanuel, Norwich, Regis, SJC Victorious in GNAC First-Round
#9 Saint Joseph's of Maine was the lone upset on Tuesday evening with a 89-81 win at #8 JWU, while #6 Norwich outlasted #11 Rivier, 65-63.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First Round - Tuesday, February 22
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine 89, #8 JWU 81
#5 Emmanuel 99, #12 Dean 69
#6 Norwich 65, #11 Rivier 63
#7 Regis 66, #10 Colby-Sawyer 59
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 23
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine at #1 Saint Joseph CT - 7PM
#5 Emmanuel at #4 Anna Maria - 7PM
#6 Norwich at #3 Lasell - 7PM
#7 Regis at #2 Albertus Magnus - 7:30 PM
Semifinals - Friday, February 25
1/9 winner vs 4/5 winner
3/6 winner vs 2/7 winner
Championship - Sunday, February 27
final at highest remaining seed
#6 Norwich 65, #11 Rivier 63
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's basketball team picked up their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament victory in 11 years downing Rivier 65-63 in a thriller in Andrews Hall on Tuesday.
Donovan Lewis Jr. (Savannah, Ga.) scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while pulling down nine rebounds and knocking down seven shots from the free throw line. Kyle Booth (Northfield, Vt.) added 14 points and nine rebounds with three assists and Jalen Olivero (Holyoke, Mass.) added 13 points with four rebounds on the defensive end.
After a slow start saw the Cadets trailing 12-4 with 15:23 remaining in the opening half, Norwich's offense sparked to life with back-to-back threes by Olivero and Kohlby Murray (Fair Haven, Vt.) to bring the Cadets within two. Rivier's Miles Gillette converted his layup attempt with 14:14 remaining in the contest but the Cadets responded with buckets on back-to-back possessions to even the score at 14-14.
With Norwich holding a 16-15 advantage, Rivier had their second eight-point scoring run of the game taking a 23-16 lead over the Cadets after a three-pointer by Nikolas Pignone.
Rivier then held a 28-22 lead but Lewis Jr. found a way to the basket converting a lay-in attempt that sparked a 13-point run as the Cadets held a 33-30 lead at the half.
Norwich maintained their three-point lead until Gillette knocked down a three-pointer with 13:23 on the clock in the second half, Murray responded the very next Cadet possession with a three of his own to retake the lead. After an offensive rebound by the Raiders' Pharaoh Davis, Will Parson knocked down a three and his ensuing free throw to take a one-point lead for Rivier.
Rivier held a five-point advantage with 5:28 to go and Lewis Jr. four straight point for the Cadets to pull within one, before Olivero converted on a jumper to retake the lead.
After back-to-back threes from Olivero and Owen Liss (West Suffield, Conn.), Pignone knocked down a pair of three-point jumpers for the Raiders on their next two possessions, pulling within one. With 57 seconds remaining Lewis Jr. scored the game-winner after Olivero connected with him on a pass into the post for Lewis Jr. to lay-in. The Norwich defense withstood the offense of Rivier to seal the victory.
Norwich (15-11, 9-8 GNAC) will now travel to No. 3 Lasell for their GNAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against the Lasers tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 7 pm in the Lasell Athletic Center.
Courtesy of Norwich Athletics Communications.
#7 Regis 66, #10 Colby-Sawyer 59
WESTON, Mass. – In a game that was defensive in nature in the first half before an offensive outburst in the second half, Regis College shot over 60 percent from the field after halftime on its way to a 66-59 victory over Colby-Sawyer College Tuesday night in a first round game of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at Higgins Court.
Justin Evelyn (Uniondale, N.Y.) tied his career high with 20 points, scoring 17 of them in the second half as he shot 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line, during the contest. Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) notched his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, Mass.) finished with 12 points and Jalil Wilkerson (New Haven, Conn.) contributed eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Regis scored the first six points of the game before Kevin Cummings opened the scoring for the Chargers with a three-pointer. Down 10-5, Colby-Sawyer put together an 8-3 scoring run to tie the game at 13-13 before the Pride retook the lead on two free throws by Trinidad and a jumper from Wilkins.
After a layup by Omar Boone brought Colby-Sawyer within one at 19-18, Regis closed the first half with a 9-4 scoring stretch over the final six minutes to take a 28-22 lead into halftime. The Chargers quickly erased their deficit in the first two minutes of the second half, as Scott Lampron made consecutive baskets and Zack Caraballo followed with a layup to tie the game at 28-28.
Russell Rau (Fitchburg, Mass.) started a 10-2 Pride run with a three-pointer, followed by consecutive layups by Trinidad and a three-pointer by Wilkins. Zakaria Latifi (Holliston, Mass.) hit a three-pointer and Evelyn followed with a jumper to extend the Regis advantage to its largest of the night at 49-40 midway through the second half.
Colby-Sawyer responded with a 10-3 scoring run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, capped by consecutive three-pointers from Lampron that tied the game at 52-52 with 6:26 left in regulation. After a Regis timeout, Evelyn scored all nine points during a 9-2 run over the next two minutes that put the Pride ahead for good.
After he was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 21 seconds left, Lampron connected on all three free throw attempts to close the Charger deficit to five. However, Regis successfully used most of the remaining time, and Trinidad capped the Pride victory with two made three throws with 2.2 seconds showing on the clock.
Lampron scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as he shot 9-for-15 from the field for the game, while Boone notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. After shooting 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field in the second half, the Chargers ended up at 42.4 percent (25-for-59) field goal shooting.
The Pride hit 14-of-23 field goal attempts in the second half, including 6-of-7 shots from behind the three-point line, to finish with a field goal percentage of 40.4 percent (23-for-57). Regis enjoyed a slight rebounding edge, 40-37, and scored 14 points off 14 Charger turnovers.
Regis College (13-12), the seventh seed in the GNAC Tournament, will have a quick turnaround as it travels to New Haven, Conn., to face second seed Albertus Magnus Wednesday, Feb. 23, starting at 7:30 p.m. Colby-Sawyer, the 10th seed in the tournament, sees its season end with a 9-15 overall record.
Courtesy of Regis Athletics Communications.
#5 Emmanuel 99, #12 Dean 69
BOSTON – Sophomores Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.), Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) and Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) combined for 48 points while shooting a combined 61% from the field to power No. 5 Emmanuel College past No. 12 Dean College, 99-69, in the Opening Round of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball tournament on Tuesday evening in Boston, Mass.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- EC trailed 4-0 early but responded with a 12-0 run capped by a Grijalva layup to take control at 12-4 at the 15:44 marker.
- The Bulldogs evened the score at 12-12 on a deep triple by senior Traijan Powell (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) triggering a series of possessions where the squads traded baskets all the way to a 27-26 score in favor of Dean with 8:43 to play in the first half.
- A triple by grad student Dakota Wheeler (Easthampton, Mass.) with 7:59 on the clock put Emmanuel on top for good at 29-27 as the Saints exploded for 27 points over the final eight minutes of the opening stanza to carry a comfortable 53-37 lead into the break.
- Grijalva, Ciccio and Pope opened the second half with consecutive baskets including a fast break dunk by Pope to build the Emmanuel lead to 60-37 and ignite the home crowd.
- Dean was unable to put together any significant run to make it a game as the Saints cruised down the stretch for the 99-69 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grijalva and Pope finished the night with a team-high 17 points each while Ciccio chipped in with 14 in the win.
- Wheeler also finished in double-figures with 12 points on a 4-of-5 shooting performance from downtown while senior guard Devon Pulsifer (Winthrop, Mass.) added 11 points.
- Powell led all scorers with 20 points on an 8-of-19 shooting performance for the Bulldogs.
- Dean sophomore forward Marquist Muse (Franklin, N.J.) netted a season-high 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench while first year guard Dion Zhuta (Middlebury, Conn.) contributed 14 points.
- The Saints finished the night with a season-high 27 assists marking the third-highest single-game total in program history as grad student Zachary Crisafulli (Easthampton, Mass.) dished out six helpers while Ciccio, Grijalva and Wheeler all recorded four assists each.
- EC netted 15 threes in the victory coming just one shy of the single-game record. They finished the night 15-of-28 for a season-best 53.6 shooting percentage from downtown.
- The 99 points matches a season-high while the 53-point first half was just the second half all season the Saints eclipsed 50 points in a stanza.
- The Saints also owned a 40-27 advantage in rebounds to move on in the GNAC tourney.
UP NEXT
- Emmanuel advances to the GNAC Quarterfinals and faces No. 4 Anna Maria College tomorrow (February 23) in Paxton, Mass. at 7:00 PM.
- The loss ends the Bulldogs 2021-22 campaign.
Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications.
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine 89, #8 JWU 81
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - #9 Saint Joseph's College (9-17) tipped #8 Johnson & Wales University (10-14), 89-81, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball tournament first round contest on Tuesday evening.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament and will play at top-seeded University of Saint Joseph tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. The reigning conference champion Blue Jays, ranked #5 nationally, capped the regular season with an unblemished 18-0 GNAC record and defeated the Monks, 84-72, in Standish last month.
For Johnson & Wales, the loss signals the end of the 2021-22 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Solely in the lead for all but one JWU possession early in the first half, the Monks gained some breathing room with an impressive run, fueled by stellar three-point shooting, to claim a 19-point lead going into intermission. Clinging to a 33-27 edge with 6:25 remaining in the opening frame, four SJC players combined to make 5-of-6 shots from downtown as the visitors mounted a 21-8 surge and went into the locker room with a 54-35 cushion.
The Wildcats refused to go down without a fight and made things interesting in the closing minutes. Saint Joseph's led by 20 (68-48) after junior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) made a layup with 13:38 left, but the SJC shooters went cold for the next four minutes, a span during which JWU netted 15 unanswered points to make it a 68-63 game with 9:34 left.
The Monks regained a double-digit advantage with the help of senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine), who netted six points during a 10-2 run over the subsequent four minutes to lift his squad to a 78-65 lead with 5:12 on the clock.
In the closing minutes, Johnson & Wales managed to cut the St. Joe's advantage to single digits and trailed by just four points (85-81) after Josh Zangerle hit a jump shot with 30 seconds left, but the Monks held off the hosts by going 6-for-6 from the FT line in the final minute.
STATS OF THE GAME:
The Monks shot 78.6% (11-14) from the free throw line while the Wildcats went just 11-for-23 for a 47.8% mark from the charity stripe…St. Joe's also outshot JWU from beyond the arc, 48% (12-25) to 21.1% (4-19).
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
· Senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) led the three-point parade by going 5-for-8 from downtown with a game-high 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists
· Foley netted 20 with three rebounds and a pair of steals
· Junior forward Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) was 6-for-6 from the floor with 14 points
· Freshman Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to score 11 points with two boards and two steals
· Abbott chipped in with seven points, five caroms, three assists, and two blocked shots
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
· Aireus Raspberry paced the hosts with 23 points
· Zangerle added 19 with four boards and three steals
· Bobby Fiorito contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists
· Bryan Davis pulled down 12 rebounds with eight points and five assists
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-16 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University, a team that defeated the Monks by a 73-60 score just 10 days ago in Providence…For the Monks, the GNAC tourney win on the road is the team's first since 2019 – when SJC won a quarterfinal tilt at JWU, 83-80 – and just the second in the last nine years.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.