Men’s Basketball Falls in GNAC Quarterfinals at Albertus Magnus, 82-79

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The seventh-seeded Suffolk men's basketball team took the second-seed Albertus Magnus down to the wire, but came out on the wrong side of an 82-79 decision in the GNAC Quarterfinals at The Nest Tuesday night.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 79 | Albertus Magnus 82
RECORDS: Suffolk (14-12) | Albertus Magnus (21-4)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
The lead exchanged and tied up twice in the first four minutes before Brendan Mulson buried a bucket from behind-the-arc to give the Rams an early 10-8 edge.  

Suffolk built on that from there and rallied around nine consecutive points to gain a 12-point, 34-22, cushion with 8:43 to go before intermission.  

Albertus Magnus played its way back into things though. Slowly, but surely, a two-possession game was restored and five unanswered Falcons points leveled the playing field at 39-all. Cameron Powers helped the blue-and-gold hold onto the lead. The senior sunk a driving lay-up in the lane and got fouled with 48 seconds left on the clock. He could not convert the additional point, however, and a pair of freebies by Andrew Rice ended the first 20 minutes even at 41-all.   

The Falcons fell behind be five early in the second half before Thomas Duffy took over for the visitors and restored their advantage, 52-51, at the 14:06 minute mark. 

Albertus Magnus took the lead over again and remained ahead until there was eight minutes left to play. Jonathan Eng jump started another Suffolk comeback with his fourth triple of the night. That long ball began 7-2 Rams run that gave put the blue-and-gold in front, 67-66.  

Once again things flipped flopped. A Mulson layup kept Suffolk ahead by one and Eng lengthened the margin to four after swishing his fifth three of the day.  

Out of the under four-minute timeout, the Falcons scored nine straight regain a five-point, 77-72, cushion with 2:17 to go.  

Eng's sixth trey of the day kept the Rams hopes alive, slicing the gap back to two with just over 2:01 to play.  

Down the stretch Suffolk had to gamble with the foul game and make Albertus Magnus win it at the line. The hosts held onto the lead and game by going 5-for-6 at the charity stripe to end the Rams' season. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Duffy's 24-point performance anchored Suffolk's scoring. He shot 10-for-20 on the night with three caroms and two assists. 
• Eng shot lights out in his final collegiate contest. He went 6-for-9 from three-point range to finish with 19 points. 
• Powers provided 13 points off the bench on a 4-for-10 connection rate to go along with five rebounds, two dimes and two takeaways. 
• Mulson was on the verge of a double-double with an 11-point, 9-rebound effort. 
• Suffolk shot 42.2 percent (27-64) from the floor, 37.0 percent (10-27) from behind-the-arc and 78.9 percent (15-19) at the line. 
• The Rams won the battle on the boards, 41-33.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk made its eighth straight and 16th overall trip to the GNAC Tournament. 
• Suffolk and Albertus Magnus met in the GNAC Tournament for the second time, first since 2015. 
• The Rams senior class was responsible for 70.9 (56) percent of Suffolk's scoring. 
• Eng notched a personal-best six long balls made to match a career-high 19 points.  

POST-GAME PIC