FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
#1 ALBERTUS 107, #4 MOUNT IDA 68
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.) recorded his 22nd double-double of the season, 23 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the top-seeded Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team past the fourth-seeded Mount Ida Mustangs, 107-68, on Thursday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinals inside Athletic Center Gym.
With their eighth straight victory, the Falcons improve to 22-4 on the year and advance to Saturday's conference championship, while the Mustangs see their season come to an end with a 17-10 mark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was all Albertus in the first half as the Falcons opened the game with the early 12-4 lead heading into a Mustang' timeout just five minutes in. At the 14:11 mark, Jacob Sartain of Mount Ida sparked an 8-2 run to cut the Falcons' lead to two, 14-12.
Over the next couple of minutes, Mount Ida forced two ties before Albertus pushed its lead to 15, 34-19, with 4:47 left in the first. The Mustangs battled back to within nine, 38-29, following a jumper from Kevin Vanderhorst, but Albertus would close out the first with a 10-0 run to take a 48-29 lead at the half.
Albertus blew open the game in the second half shooting 53.7 percent from the field and getting 11 points from Walters and 35 points from the bench.
The Falcons continued their run into the second half and found themselves up 27, 57-30, following a 9-1 run just three minutes in. Mount Ida continued to chip away at the hosts' lead, but at the 9:38 mark the Falcons pushed their lead to 30 and never looked back.
FIRST HALF STATS
- Shaquille Mitchell (Linden, N.J.) led the offensive charge with 16 points while shooting 5-of-11 from the field as well as shot 100 percent from the free throw line.
- The Falcons heled a 21-17 edge over Mount Ida in rebounds.
- Ethan Dujon posted eight points in the first half for the Mustangs while recording a team-high four made field goals.
- Mount Ida forced two ties at the 9:05 mark and 8:29 mark.
SECOND HALF STATS
- Dennis Ross of Mount Ida scored 13 of his 17 points over the final 20 minutes of play.
- Walters had a better second half as the junior scored a team-high 11 points and six rebounds.
- Along with Walters, Jemaa Yuori (Ghana) tallied a team-high two blocks.
- Mount Ida held a 3-5 edge over Albertus in turnovers.
FINAL STATS
- Senior Shaquille Mitchell (Linden, N.J.) and junior Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) also scored in double-figures for the Falcons with 16 and 13 points apiece.
- The Falcons finished the game shooting an impressive 51.4 percent from the floor and held the Mustangs to 36.1 percent.
- Dennis Ross led the Mustangs with 17 points while Ethan Dujon and Joey DeFillippi scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.
- Albertus dominated in the paint scoring 58 points as well as tallied 23 second chance points.
- All 14 players for Albertus scored at least two points to help the team to victory
Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.
#3 LASELL 68, #2 JWU 61
PROVIDENCE, RI. – For the first time since 2008, the third-seeded Lasell College men's basketball team will play for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship as it overcame a 15-point deficit and scored 45 second-half points en route to a 68-61 win over second-seeded Johnson & Wales on Thursday night at the Wildcat Center.
The Lasers improve to 19-8 on the season with their sixth straight win, while the Wildcats close the season at 15-12 after losing for the third time in four games.
Senior John Powell (Ashland, Mass.) scored 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead Lasell, while sophomore Tim Blair (Newington, Conn.) added 20 ― including six from three-point range and 16 in the second half ― and dished out a team-high five assists.
Additionally, senior Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) also reached double digits, scoring 14 points while grabbing 18 rebounds for the second consecutive game.
In defeat, senior Anthony Jernigan (East Hartford, Conn.) scored a game-high 26 points on four of the Wildcats' seven threes while recording nine rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. No other JWU starter had more than five points, while sophomore Elijah Lewis (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored eight points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Jernigan knocked down a pair of threes as the Wildcats started the game on a six-point run, but Lasell responded a bit later in the opening half with Powell providing all of the team's offense with eight points in a 12-point stretch, ultimately tying the game at 20-20 with 5:32 remaining. The hosts built a 35-23 lead at intermission after Jernigan scored six more of his 19 first-half points in a 15-3 stretch to end the half.
The Lasers came to life in the second half, holding a 45-26 scoring advantage while shooting 47.1 percent from the field. Junior Edson Dascy (Fall River, Mass.) lifted JWU to a 15-point advantage just 15 seconds into the second half, but Lasell scored 11 of the next 13 points from there to move within a six-point window.
After junior Michael Kiser (Pike Road, Ala.) put JWU up 42-34 just past the five-minute mark of the second half, Lasell stormed back again and took a 43-42 lead on a Powell layup with 11:42 to play. Junior Ryan Jones (Weymouth, Mass.) started that spurt of two-plus minutes over which Powell scored five points and Blair also canned two.
JWU responded with a positive run its way, building up to a 52-45 lead with 8:30 to play. Powell added a layup less than a minute later to bring Lasell closer before the Wildcats used three free throws to go ahead 55-47.
From there, junior Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) ignited a 10-0 run in Lasell's way. Villalon hit two consecutive shots to draw Lasell within two, while Powell tied the game with a jumper with 4:37 to play and Jones laid in a go-ahead basket at the 3:28 mark.
The Wildcats clawed back to two separate three-point and two-point leads in the final three minutes, but Lasell closed the game with nine straight points to seal the win. Blair hit a couple threes to begin that stretch, including the winner with 92 seconds to play. Villalon, Blair and sophomore Joe O'Brien (Saugus, Mass.) also added free throws down the stretch.
Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.