Men’s Basketball Outlasts Curry, 68-57

BOSTON – Harrison Neil's career-high 18 points helped push the Suffolk men's basketball team over Curry, 68-57, in Conference of New England (CNE) play Saturday afternoon at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 68 | Curry 57
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-3, 2-0 CNE) | Curry (3-6, 0-3 CNE)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Suffolk opened a 14-8 lead early after six straight points from Connor Strickland, prompting a Curry timeout at the 11:27 mark of the first half.
• Curry responded with a 15-8 stretch over the next 7:30, capped by a Tommy Mallinson three that put the Colonels back in front 23-22 with just under four minutes left in the opening half.
• A scoop and score followed by a triple from Neil sent the teams into halftime tied at 27-27.
• The opening four minutes of the second half featured three lead changes and a tie, but Curry created the early separation and moved ahead 37-31.
• Suffolk answered with a 13-3 run that included points from six different Rams and was capped by four straight from Greg Keane to take a 46-42 edge with 8:43 remaining.
• Curry briefly tied the game at 46-46 with 8:22 to go before the Rams closed strong, getting five points from Neil and five from Strickland to lock up the 68-57 victory.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Neil paced all scorers with 18 points, adding nine rebounds and four assists.
• Strickland was perfect from the floor (5-for-5) for 10 points and made a defensive impact with four steals.
• Nick Verdile contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
• James Jones added nine points and six boards, while Marquis White chipped in eight points and three takeaways.
• Keane filled the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds, six blocks, and two assists.
• Suffolk limited Curry to 34.4 percent shooting and just 14.3 percent from three, while forcing 23 turnovers that resulted in 20 points.
• The Rams' bench made a major impact, outscoring the Colonels' reserves 31-12.
• The contest featured 11 lead changes and eight ties.

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk improved to 39-7 all-time against the Colonels.
• The Rams have now won 13 straight in the series.
• The blue-and-gold moved to 15-5 versus Curry in games played in Boston.
• Under head coach Jeff Juron Suffolk remains perfect against the Colonels at 11-0.
• Neil set career highs in points (18) and boards (9). 
• Strickland recorded a new personal-best with five steals.
• Verdile matched his career-high with three steals.
• Keane's six blocks mark the second time this season he has reached that total, having previously swatted eight shots on November 12 against Colby Sawyer.
• Suffolk held its opponent to under 60 points for the third consecutive game.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is off for the next few weeks and will pick things back up at the Trinity Holiday Tournament Dec. 30-31. The Rams are set to face the defending NCAA Division III Champion No. 1 Trinity to get the tournament underway Monday at 5:00 p.m.