Albertus Magnus College
Men's Basketball GNAC Preview
Albertus Magnus (21-5)
vs.
Johnson & Wales (18-9)
Saturday, Feb. 24 • 1 pm • New Haven, Conn.
LINKS: VIDEO | LIVE STATS
IT'S CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
The top-seeded Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team knocked off fourth-seeded Lasell College, 97-86, on Thursday night to advance to this Saturday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship. The Falcons will square off with the No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales Wildcats at 1:00 p.m. at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center with the conference crown on the line. The winner of the contest will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship.
TICKETING INFORMATION FOR AMC BASKETBALL GAMES
General Admission - $3
Senior Citizens - $3
Children 12 & under (accompanied by adult) - free
AMC students with ID - free
AMC faculty and staff with ID – free
GNAC TOURNAMENT RECAP
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: #1 Albertus Magnus 97, #4 Lasell 86 | BOX
Game 6: #2 Johnson & Wales (RI) 80, #6 Suffolk 74 | BOX
Saturday, February 24 - Final
Game 7: #2 Johnson & Wales (RI) at #1 Albertus Magnus - 1:00 p.m.
FALCONS POSTSEASON NOTES
- 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 30-10.
- The Falcons and Wildcats are tied at 4-4 in the postseason all-time series.
- Together, Albertus Magnus and Johnson & Wales have won the last eight GNAC Championships.
ALL-TIME VS. JOHNSON & WALES
Johnson & Wales holds a 28-24 edge over Albertus Magnus in the all-time series.
THIS YEAR VS. JOHNSON & WALES
Game (2/17/18): Johnson & Wales 93 | Albertus Magnus 77 - RECAP / BOX SCORE
Game (2/6/18): Albertus Magnus 82 | Johnson & Wales 73 – RECAP / BOX SCORE
SCOUTING JOHNSON & WALES
- Links: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATS
- Averages – 78.6 points and 39.0 rebounds per game.
- Shooting – 45.3% (field goal), 33.1% (three point) and 66.2% (free throw)
- Leading Scorer – Brian Hogan-Gary (averages 17.6 points a game while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor)
- assists per game – 12.6
- steals per game – 8.9
- blocks per game – 3.8
- opponents' field goal percentage – 42.3%
- opponents' three-point percentage – 35.1%
- rebound margin per game – 1.7
SCOUTING ALBERTUS MAGNUS
- Links: ROSTER | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | STATS
- Averages - 84.4 points and 43.5 rebounds per game.
- Shooting – 46.4% (field goal), 33.9% (three point) and 63.3% (free throw)
- Leading Scorer - Jaqhawn Walters (averages 26.7 points and 14.6 rebounds, ranking him first in the GNAC in points and in rebounds)
- assists per game – 10.7
- steals per game – 7.3
- blocks per game – 3.6
- opponents' field goal percentage – 42.3%
- opponents' three-point percentage – 31.0%
- rebound margin per game – 5.4
2018 RECAP
- Finished the regular season with an overall record of 19-5 and a conference mark of 15-1.
- The Falcons only conference loss came in the regular season finale to Johnson & Wales.
- key wins over non-conference opponents WPI and Babson.
- 9-1 in the month of December.
- 10-game winning streak midway through the season.
- one 100-point game.
- 11-1 at home.
- 8-4 on the road.
- 19 win season --> 229 career wins for Coach Oliver.
NEWCOMERS
The Falcons welcome five newcomers to the squad for the 2017-18 season – Yahya Bilal, Marqise Owens, Tyreek Perkins, Hanif Bilal and Amir Maddred.
WELCOME BACK
Albertus Magnus returns 11 players from last year's squad – Ryan Pittman, Mason Jones, Randy Thomas, Jemaa Yuori, Brian Hardy, Aaron Fox, Jaqhawn Walters, Damian Grant, Jahmerikah Green-Younger, Liam Perryman and Erick Langston.
MEN'S BASKETBALL LANDS ATOP OF GNAC PRESEASON POLL
Link: Complete GNAC Release
The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team received nine of 11 first-place votes to land atop the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) preseason poll. The Falcons earned 118 total points and finished 15 points ahead of second-place Johnson & Wales.
LAST YEAR RECAP
- The Falcons concluded the 2016-17 season with an overall record of 23-5 and a conference mark of 16-2.
- Albertus Magnus won their seventh GNAC title after defeating GNAC rival Lasell College, 101-83, in the championship game.
- Following the win over the Lasers, the Falcons made their sixth appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
- Head Coach Mitch Oliver earned his 200th career win in the 85-82 win over Anna Maria back on January 21, 2017.
WALTERS EARNS END OF THE YEAR HONORS
Last year, Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.) received year-end honors after finishing his junior year averaging 20.7 points, 13.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was named to the 2017 D3Hoops All-American Second Team, 2017 All-Region Second Team and earned a spot on the NABC Division III All-District Second Team. He was also named GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after the Falcons defeated Lasell College in the GNAC Championship.
A TRIO OF FALCONS EARN GNAC HONORS
Forward Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.), guard Grant Ellis (Newark, N.J.) and guard Devin Coleman (Bridgeport, Conn.) earned All-Conference honors. Walters was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Player of the Year as well as earned First Team honors. Ellis earned Second Team honors while Coleman earned Third Team. Guard Jemaa Yuori (Ghana) earned a spot on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
YUORI LANDS SPOT ON GNAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its All-Academic Team for the 2016-17 school year. Fifty-seven student-athletes from Albertus Magnus College were among the 893 members, including Jemaa Yuori.
