FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

#1 Albertus Magnus 87, #8 Anna Maria 66
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.) of the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team netted a team-best 21 points and 19 rebounds to collect his 22nd double-double of the season as the Falcons defeated eighth-seeded Anna Maria College, 87-66, on Tuesday evening at "The Nest". The Falcons will advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday and will play host to fourth-seeded Lasell College.

FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 87 | Anna Maria 66
RECORDS: #1 Albertus Magnus (19-5) | #8 Anna Maria (10-15)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus Magnus and Anna Maria battled over the first nine minutes of play as the Falcons held a seven-point advantage, 18-11, on a jumper from Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) at the 11:11 mark. Soon after, Albertus Magnus saw its lead double, 30-15, before closing out the half with a 46-17 lead, following a 16-2 run sparked by a layup from Walters.

Despite Anna Maria outshooting the hosts, 49-41, in the second half, the AMCATS were unable to stop the Falcons offensively. Albertus Magnus took its largest lead of the game at 35, 56-21, with 16:13 remaining in regulation and never looked back to secure the home win.

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the Falcons 10th-straight GNAC postseason appearance, extending their total to 18 overall.
• The Falcons are the defending GNAC Champions and are going for their seventh conference championship/NCAA berth in nine years.
• Albertus Magnus holds an all-time postseason record of 29-10.
• Following tonight's win, the Falcons hold a 4-0 edge over the AMCATS in the postseason.
• Sophomore Hanif Bilal (Winston, Salem, N.C.) posted a career-best 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and went 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Albertus Magnus - 50.7% (field goal), 33.3% (three point) and 64.3% (free throw)
• Anna Maria - 45.2% (field goal), 35.3% (three point) and 44.4% (free throw)
• This game saw five lead changes.
• The Falcons out rebounded the AMCATS, 44-33, as well as posted a 10-9 edge in second chance points.
• Albertus Magnus dominated in the paint scoring 54 points compared to Anna Maria who posted 30.
• Liam Pickett paced the AMCATS offense with a team-high 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting from field to go along with three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.
• Freshman Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) finished the evening with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
• Junior Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) closed out regulation with a 17-point performance.
• The Falcons' bench recorded 26 points.

Courtesy of Albertus Athletics Communications.

#4 Lasell 88, #5 Regis (Mass.) 72
NEWTON, Mass. – Sophomore Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass) scored a game-high 27 points Tuesday evening to lead fourth-seeded Lasell College to an 88-72 victory over fifth-seeded Regis College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball quarterfinal game at the Lasell Athletic Center.

The Lasers (13-13) advance to a semifinal contest on Thursday, February 22, at top-seeded Albertus Magnus College (20-5) after the Falcons advanced Tuesday with an 87-66 triumph over eighth-seeded Anna Maria College. The Lasell-Albertus Magnus matchup is a rematch of last year's GNAC championship game, won by the Falcons, 101-83.

Masciarelli connected on 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range as well as all eight free throws. He had 13 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting and 3-of-4 from long range as Lasell ran up an 18-point margin after 20 minutes and maintained the lead throughout the second half.

Junior Tim Blair (Newington, Conn) added 17 points and six rebounds for the Lasers, and senior Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) chipped in with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Both Blair and Arsenault were 2-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, as Lasell made 10-of-20 threes in a 46-point frame.

Junior Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Pride with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while classmate Shawn Wedderburn(Bronx, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Roger Hamel (Huntington Beach, Calif.) added 12 points and four steals, but the Pride season comes to an end with a 12-14 record.

There were four lead changes and three tie scores in the first 11 minutes of the game before Lasell rattled off 10 straight points to take a 28-18 lead with 7:39 remaining in the first half. Junior Joe O'Brien (Saugus, Mass.) and Arsenault hit three-point shots and Blair and freshman Victor Collazo (Clearwater, Fla.) added baskets for Lasell in the rally.

Blair hit a pair of threes as Lasell pushed its lead up to 14 points (36-22) with five minutes to go, and Arsenault added another a minute later to make it a 15-point game. Masciarelli connected from downtown in the final minute to give Lasell a 20-point bulge (46-26) before freshman Marc Trinidad (Bronx, N.Y.) answered with a layup just before the buzzer to make it a 46-28 score at the intermission.

Regis scored the first seven points out of the locker room on a pair of baskets by Wedderburn and a triple from Hamel to cut the margin to 11 before McMahon answered for Lasell with a three-pointer. The Lasers maintained a double-digit lead the next seven minutes until Regis ran off 10 consecutive points, including six points from freshman Juvens Dalger (Oakland Park, Fla.) and two each from Afonja and sophomore Shaun Wingfield (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), to cut the margin down to seven points (59-52) with 10:09 on the clock.

Lasell answered with a run of its own as Blair scored five straight points and then fed Arsenault for a layup to push the lead back to 14 points (66-52) with 9:38 to play. Regis got the margin back to single digits one more time (68-59) with 7:30 remaining, but Lasell answered with six straight points to push the lead back up to 15, and the Pride got no closer than 14 points in the final six minutes.

Lasell defeated Regis for the second time this season, although the Lasers needed a three-pointer by Arsenault with 18 seconds remaining to pull out a 69-67 victory three weeks ago.

Lasell will face a tough challenge against Albertus Magnus in Thursday's semifinal, after falling to the Falcons 78-67 in New Haven, Conn., back on January 20.

Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.

#6 Suffolk 69, #3 Saint Joseph's Maine 65
STANDISH, Maine – For the first time since 2007, Suffolk men's basketball will compete in the GNAC semifinals as the sixth-seeded Rams held off the tournament's third seed and upset Saint Joseph's (Maine), 69-65, Tuesday night at the Harold Alfond Center. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 69, Saint Joseph's (Maine) 65
RECORDS: Suffolk (15-11) | Saint Joseph's (Maine) (16-10) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After 10 minutes of back-and-forth play, St. Joe's sat in front, 14-12. George Grillakis jump started 10 unanswered points for the Rams to flip the switch and put Suffolk ahead, 22-14, with just over remaining in the first half. The blue-and-gold kept their distance from the Monks and led by as many as nine on a Thomas Duffy bucket. SJC remained in the hunt, however, and shaved Suffolk's edge to five, 30-25, at the break. 

The Monks hung around with the Rams out of the locker rooms as the hosts remained within a possession or two over the opening 13 minutes of second stanza action. Duffy fueled a 12-5 Suffolk run that turned the distance into double digits, 63-53, at the 3:05 minute mark. 

St. Joe's did not go down without a fight, however, as the Monks clawed back in the final three minutes of regulation. SJC used a 7-1 spurt to pull within five, 65-60, with 1:38 to play. 

With under a minute remaining, the hosts gambled with sending the Rams to the charity and it played out in the Monks favor. Jim Djema went 1-for-2 on his first trip, which preceded a Monks' jumper and tip-in to make it a two-point game with 17 seconds on the clock. 

St. Joe's sent Djema back to the line and this time the junior guard missed the front end of a one-and-one before George Grillakis fouled on the rebound to send Ian Mileikis to the foul line. Thankfully for Suffolk, Mileikis made the first, missed the second, to keep the Rams ahead one, 66-65. 

Michael Hagopian made on at the line and the Monks turned it over on their next possession before Duffy locked up the 69-65 win with a pair of freebies with two seconds left. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Hagopian shot 60 percent (6-10) from behind-the-arc to lead Suffolk with a game-high 25 points. He chipped in five caroms, two dimes and one steal.
• Duffy, meanwhile, had 22 points behind an 8-for-13 performance from the field, a 2-for-3 showing from downtown and a 4-for-5 effort at the free throw line. He led the Rams on the glass with seven boards to go along with three assists.
• Djema and Grillakis each contributed eight points apiece, while Mulson registered six points and six boards.
• Suffolk shot 45.6 percent (26-57) as a team from the field, 47.6 percent (10-21) from three-point land and just 53.8 percent (7-13) from the line.
• SJC outrebounded the Rams, 38-33. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk made its 14th overall and sixth straight appearance in the GNAC Tournament.
• The Rams defeated Saint Joseph's (Maine) for the first time in the league's postseason and the team's second meeting in the conference tournament.
• For the first time since 2007 and fourth time overall, Suffolk advanced to the conference semifinals.
• Suffolk advances to the semis for the first time as the field's sixth seed.
• The postseason win is the first under Jeff Juron's guidance and first since 2007 when the seventh-seeded Rams upset second seeded Emerson, 80-75.
• Suffolk took down the Monks in back-to-back meetings for the first time in the all-time series, which dates back to Jan. 15, 2008.
• The Rams won their sixth-ever game over SJC. 
• Hagopian had his seventh game with 20-plus points, while Duffy surpassed 20 points for the 10th time this season. 

COMING UP
Suffolk advances to the GNAC semifinals and will take on Johnson & Wales Thursday, Feb. 24 on the Wildcats campus.

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

#2 Johnson & Wales 77, #7 Norwich 72 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Defense is the hallmark of the Johnson & Wales University men's basketball team and the Wildcats got the defensive stops it needed down the stretch to defeat Norwich in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament. The Wildcats defeated the Cadets 77-72 on Tuesday.

Records:
Norwich: 10-16
Johnson & Wales: 17-9

Statistical Leaders:
Randall Ferdinand (JWU): 20 points, 4 steals, 4 assists
Nate Patenaude (JWU): 11 points, 14 rebounds
Zygimantas Sirvydas (NU): 24 points, 5 rebounds

Of Note:
Jesse Davis nailed a three-pointer to tie the game, 67-67, with 2:48 to play. JWU got steals on Norwich's next two possessions and Randall Ferdinand converted those into a 71-67 Wildcat lead. Johnson & Wales got 27 points off 17 Norwich turnovers.

The Cadets led for a good portion of the first half. A Donovian Maxfield three-pointer tied the game, 26-26, with 8:05 remaining in the half. That sparked a Wildcats' run that was capped four minutes later by a Ferdinand layup to put JWU up 40-28 on its way to a 44-38 halftime lead.

The Cadets shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the first, but the Wildcats had the equalizer behind the three-point line. JWU was 10-15 (66.7%), including Maxfield who was 4-4. The Wildcats were 0-9 in the second half from three-point range, but hit 13-14 from the free throw line.

All five JWU starters reached double figures, topped by Ferdinand with 20 points. Jarell Lawson – who sealed the victory with four free throws in the final 30 seconds – was next at 17. Rookie Nate Patenaude produced an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Ove half off Norwich's points came from a pair of players. Zygimantas Sirvydas led everyone with 24 points while Davis was next with 20 points. Norwich shot 47.3 percent from the field.

Up Next:
Johnson & Wales moves on to face Suffolk in Thursday's semifinal at 7 p.m. JWU defeated the Rams 94-57 on January 20.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

Tuesday, February 20 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #1 Albertus Magnus 87, #8 Anna Maria 66 | BOX
Game 2: #4 Lasell 88, #5 Regis (Mass.) 72 | BOX
Game 3: #6 Suffolk 69, #3 Saint Joseph's Maine 65 | BOX
Game 4: #2 Johnson & Wales 77, #7 Norwich 72  | BOX

Thursday, February 22 - Semifinals
Game 5: #4 Lasell at #1 Albertus Magnus - 7:00 PM
Game 6: #6 Suffolk at #2 Johnson & Wales - 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 24 - Final
Game 7: Highest remaining seed

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

– #TheGNAC –