Sophomore James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.) scored a career-high 23 points to help lead the Albertus Magnus men's basketball team to a dominating 100-61 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Wednesday night in New Haven.
Jennings shot 9-of-14 from the floor and hit a career-high five three-point field goals.
With the win, Albertus improves to 11-1 on the year as the Falcons also remain unbeaten in GNAC play at 7-0. Anna Maria drops to 3-10 overall with the loss and 1-5 in league play.
The Falcons opened the game with a 6-0 spurt out of the gate. They continued to extend their lead and more than doubled the AMCats score with nine minutes to go in the frame thanks to a Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) three pointer that made the score 21-9.
Albertus pushed out to a 23-point lead with 1:23 left in the frame to mark its largest lead of the half.
Jennings led all scorers with 14 points in the first half as the Falcons shot 55.9% from the floor on a 19-of-34 showing. Anna Maria shot 31.3% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while the AMCats were led by 10 points from Patrick Bradanese off the bench.
The Falcons shot 68.8% from the field in the second half, hitting 22 of their 32 shots in the frame. From behind the arc in the frame, the Falcons hit 6-of-9, leading them to the commanding victory. On the night, the Falcons finished 62.1% from the field but just 50% from the charity stripe.
Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) led all scorers with 24 points with a 10-of-15 showing from the floor. Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 15 points and 10 assists off the bench. Watson added eight rebounds, while Ljuljdjuraj chipped in with eight boards and 15 points in 25 minutes.
Quantez Franklin shot 8-of-12 from the field for a team-high 18 points, while Bradanese finished with 15 off the bench.
Albertus is 6-3 all-time against the AMCats dating back to the 1992-93 season. Since Anna Maria joined the GNAC in the 2011-12 season, the Falcons are 5-1 against the AMCats with two of those wins coming in the GNAC Tournament Championship game the past two years.
The Falcons are set to host Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Saturday, Jan. 18 in a 3:00 p.m. GNAC contest. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Monks are 6-6 on the year and 5-0 in league action.
