Second Half Sends St. Joseph’s (Maine) Past Men’s Basketball, 90-78

BOSTON– A powerful second-half performance by Saint Joseph's (Maine) was enough to take down Suffolk men's basketball, 90-78, Tuesday night at the Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 78 | Saint Joseph's (Maine) 90
RECORDS: Suffolk (13-11, 5-5 GNAC) | Saint Joseph's (Maine) (11-13, 5-5 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth affair from the get-go as the lead exchanged twice and tied two times. Jonathan Eng flipped the script in Suffolk's favor with his first triple of the night, which boosted eight straight points from the hosts that gave them a 16-9 edge 5:57 into the action.  

Back-to-back buckets from the Monks sliced the gap to three, but another scoring stretch paid off for Suffolk. This time it was Alex Jacovides who ignited the spurt. The junior's layup was the first hoop of a 9-2 Rams run that made it a 25-17 Suffolk score, that forced SJC to use a timeout at the midway point.  

Out of the huddle, the Monks put together a spurt of its own, outscoring the blue-and-gold 9-3 to pull within two, 28-26 at the 6:27 minute mark.  

The game of runs continued and the see-saw swung in Suffolk's favor. The Rams registered seven straight points sandwiched around its own timeout to extend its advantage to nine, 35-26. 

St. Joseph's took control of the last five minutes in the first frame and the edge exchanged in the Monks favor as Griffin Foley converted a jumper. Thomas Duffy righted that wrong with a layup at the 15-second mark to send Suffolk into the break up one, 42-41.  

The Rams kept the Monks at arm's length for the opening action of the second stanza, going up by as many as eight, 58-50, at the 14:47 minute mark.  

It turned into the St. Joe's show over the next 4:38 seconds as the Monks poured in 15 points compared to Suffolk's two to take a 65-60 advantage with just over nine minutes to go.  

Nate Hale showed a spark for the Rams with a pair of hoops to cut matters to two, on two occasions. Another scoring lull for the blue-and-gold paid off for the Monks, gained a double-digit distance, 79-68, with 2:36 on the clock. 

That would be enough to put the game away despite multiple comeback attempts down the stretch by Suffolk.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Max Bonney-Liles led Suffolk's offense with 12 points with three triples to go with two helpers and two takeaways. 
• Brendan Mulson helped on both ends of the hardwood with nine points and seven rebounds. He shot 4-for-5 from the floor and had one takeaway. 
• Duffy recorded nine points, three dimes, three blocks and two boards. 
• Eng notched nine points, one assist, one carom and one steal. 
• Hale and Jacovides each added eight points off the bench. 
• Suffolk shot 45.6 percent (31-68) from the floor, 45.8 percent (11-24) and 71.4 percent (5-7) from the free throw line. 
• The Monks, who were anchored by a 39-point performance from Jack Casale, outrebounded the Rams, 36-34.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk concludes the regular-season against Regis Saturday, Feb. 22. The Senior Day celebration honoring the Rams' four graduating players will begin at 1 p.m.