NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's and women's basketball teams are coming off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals wins and head to the semifinals on Thursday.
The No. 2 seed men's team will host No. 3 Saint Joseph's (Me.) in The Nest at 7 p.m., while the women's team, seeded third, will take on the No. 2 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on the road.
The nine-time GNAC champions men's team will be looking for its 12th straight conference championship appearance as it takes on the Monks. The Falcons are third amongst all NCAA Divisions in consecutive conference championship appearances to Gonzaga (26) and Whitworth (19).
Albertus is coming off of a 79-67 win over No. 7 seed Regis in the quarterfinals on Tuesday evening. Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Antonio Bonilla scored 19 points with seven rebounds and Tazhon Daniels scored 18 points with four assists while going 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
It was a tightly contested game in the first half with three ties and six lead changes, but the Falcons pulled away in the second half, and led by as much as 17 points enroute to the win.
The Falcons and Monks are no strangers to each other this season as Albertus won its lone matchup of the season, 86-76 in overtime on the road on January 13. The game featured 11 ties and 16 lead changes as the two teams went into the extra frame tied at 71-71. In overtime, Albertus took over, going 3-for-6 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. The Falcons held the Monks to just 1-for-9 shooting from the field.
Four players finished in double figures as Bonilla scored 23, Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) had 19 points and seven rebounds, Jeyson Slade scored 16 points with seven rebounds and five steals and Washington had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
The Monks are coming off of a close 74-73 win over No. 6 Emmanuel on Tuesday where they held off a late second-half rally by the Saints. John Paul Frazier scored 19 points and Remijo Wani had 16.
The winner of the game will face either No. 1 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) or No. 5 Norwich on Saturday.
ALBERTUS MAGNUS (22-4)
SAINT JOSEPH'S (ME.) (17-9)
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The women's basketball team is coming off of a decisive 86-67 win over No. 6 seed New England College on Tuesday.
After the first quarter ended with a 17-17 ballgame, the Falcons outscored the Pilgrims, 27-12 in the second, led by Caitlyn Scott (White Plains, N.Y.) who scored 11 of her game-high 31 points in the frame.
Scott was one of four Falcons in double-figure scoring as Diamond White (Hamden, Conn.) scored 20, Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had 13 and Jakara Murray-Leach (Norwalk, Conn.) had 11. Natasha Rivera had a team-high seven rebounds with three assists and three steals.
Scott moved up to sixth-place in program history in points and now has 1,467 points in her career while Murray-Leach moved up to eighth all-time in program history in points and now has 1,369 in her career. Scott currently sits at 984 points.
In the lone meeting between the two teams on February 3, the Falcons held an early 14-2 lead before the Blue Jays rallied to win 78-65.
Scott had her first double-double with a team-leading 19 points and 12 rebounds. Scott scored 18 points and Murray-Leach had 12 points with 10 rebounds. Rivera had 12 points and eight rebounds. Amanda Fudge led USJ with 21 points, including 5-for-9 from three.
The Blue Jays are coming off of an 80-68 win over No. 7 Regis on Tuesday. Four players scored in double-figures for USJ, including Jordan Ouellette and Maya Slisz who each had 16 points.
This is the third straight GNAC semifinals appearance for the Falcons.
The winner will face either No. 1 Saint Joseph's (Me.) or No. 4 Emmanuel on Saturday.
ALBERTUS MAGNUS (20-6)
UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH (CONN.) (23-3)
