Men’s Basketball Shocks No. 19 Albertus Magnus, 81-68

MEDFORD, Mass. – Every player contributed, with a trio of student-athletes providing double digits to help Suffolk men's basketball defeat No. 19 Albertus Magnus for the first time in seven years as the Rams bested the nationally ranked Falcons, 81-68, Saturday night at Cousens Gym.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 81 | No. 19 Albertus Magnus 68
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-9, 2-3 GNAC) | No. 19 Albertus Magnus (14-4, 3-2 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk built a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes. The Falcons cut the gap down to five, but a Brendan Mulson layup followed by a triple from Alex Jacovides pushed the distance to double digits, 17-7, at the 14:33 minute mark.  

The scoring stretch continued for Suffolk as that 10-point lead blossomed to 15, 22-7, after George Grillakis converted a traditional three-point play. 

Albertus Magnus came within nine at the midway point, but that's as close as the visitors would get as the Rams pushed their advantage to as many as 18, twice, with the last coming when Cameron Powers hit a jumper with 4:21 left in the first half.

The Falcons capitalized on a Suffolk scoring lull over the final four minutes of the opening half. Albertus put in seven unanswered points to slice the margin to 11, 41-30, at intermission.  

Out of the locker rooms the teams went hoop-for-hoop until Thomas Duffy ignited 7-0 Suffolk stretch that rput the Rams ahead by 14 five minutes into the second stanza.  

Albertus Magnus slowly chipped back into things though. A 7-2 run by the Falcons restored a seven-point ball game, 53-46, at the halfway mark. 

The Rams kept the Falcons at bay, but another comeback attempt came. Keith Antonio Davis took over with his layup that made it a two-possession score was followed by a jumper that trimmed Suffolk's edge to four, 59-55, with 7:06 to go.  

Nate Hale responded for the Rams as the junior went on a run of his own, contributing six straight points, four of which came from the free throw line, to make it a 65-57 score with 5:10 left to play.  

It turned into a bucket-for-bucket battle, before time was against Albertus, who gambled with sending the Rams to the charity stripe. Jonathan Eng and Hale made their freebies, the former went 4-for-4 and the latter connected on his pair, in the final 1:26 to secure the upset.  

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Hale led the attack with 19 points off the bench. The shot 5-for-6 from the field and did not miss at the line, making all eight he attempted.
• Eng provided 11 points and Jacovides completed the threesome of Rams in double figures with 10 off a 3-for-4 showing from behind-the-arc. 
• William Rowe recorded eight boards, seven points, two assists and one block. 
• Brendan Mulson contributed eight points, three boards and two dimes. 
• Suffolk shot 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field, 35.0 percent (7-20) from three-point range and 80.0 percent (16-20) at the line. 
• The Falcons, who had a trio of players in double digits as well, outrebounded the Rams, 37-29.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Albertus Magnus for the first time since Jan. 31, 2013. 
• The Rams bested the Falcons for the first-time in the Jeff Juron era. 
• Suffolk took on a nationally ranked foe for the first time under Juron's guidance. 
• The Rams are 1-0 when playing a top-25 opponent with Juron on the bench. 
• The 81 points scored are the most for Suffolk against Albertus Magnus since dropping 82 in a 108-82 setback to the Falcons in the GNAC Quarterfinals Feb. 24, 2015.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is set to meet Rivier Tuesday, Feb. 4.