Link: Box Score
New Haven, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 93-87 home victory on Saturday afternoon over Suffolk University to propel the Falcons to the top seed in next week's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus College 93 | Suffolk University 87
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (17-7, 9-2) | Suffolk (18-7, 9-2)
ALL-TIME SERIES: Albertus improves to 25-16 against Suffolk in the all-time series record.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Prior to the start of today's game, the men's basketball team and President Marc Camille honored its lone senior Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) for his hardwork on the court over the past four years.
- Albertus extends its winning streak to six games after defeating the Rams at home.
- The Falcons are 16-5 at home against the Rams.
- This game saw seven ties and 12 lead changes.
- A quartet of players - Jahmerikah Green-Younger (Norwalk, Conn.), Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) and Terry Dawkins (Queens, N.Y.) - shot an impressive 100 percent from the free throw line.
- Green-Younger's 23-point performance was a season-high for the shooting guard.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
- Despite trailing Albertus early in the first, Suffolk built a two-point distance, 13-11, on a 13-7 run that was highlighted by eight points from Michael Hagopian.
- Albertus climbed back and regained the lead, 14-13, at the 16:48 mark on a deep three from Perkins.
- Albertus and Suffolk kept things interesting over the next four minutes of play as both teams forced three ties before the Rams found themselves up four, 25-21.
- The score flipped once again as the Falcons went on a 6-0 spurt to go up 27-25 with 11:42 remaining in the opening half.
- From that point on, Albertus remained in control on offense and would head into halftime up 45-42.
Second Half:
- Suffolk kicked off the second hitting hoops when needed to regain the lead, 48-47, two minutes in.
- The Rams maintained their composure until the 13:22 mark as a jumper from Green-Younger gave the Falcons' their lead back, 62-58.
- Midway through the half, a pair of free throws from Brendan Mulson evened the score for a final time, 64-64, but a 7-0 spurt by the hosts made it a seven-point game, 71-64.
- Albertus remained in contol despite the Rams cutting the lead to within four, 76-72, with 5:42 left on the clock.
- Suffolk tried to pick up the pieces, but saw the Falcons' lead grow to 12, 88-76, with 1:59 remaining and was unable to secure the comeback.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Albertus:
- Jahmerikah Green-Younger – 23 Points (8-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 6-6 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 steal
- Davon Warner – 19 Points (6-10 FG, 4-6 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 2 rebounds
- Tyreek Perkins – 16 Points (5-12 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-4 FT) | 1 rebound | 2 assists | 3 steals
- Damian Grant (Waterbury, Conn.) – 15 Points (6-10 FG, 3-7 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 blocks
Suffolk:
- Thomas Duffy – 29 Points | 6 rebounds | 4 assists
- Steven Diprizio – 16 Points | 8 rebounds | 4 assists
- Brendan Mulson – 15 points | 3 rebounds | 1 assist
- Michael Hagopian – 12 points | 3 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals
- Alex Jacovides – 12 points | 3 rebounds | 1 assist
UP NEXT
Top-seeded Albertus Magnus will now get set to host eighth-seeded Lasell College on Tuesday, February 19 at 8pm in New Haven, Conn. This will be the Falcons 10th straight GNAC Tournament appearance as well as 19th overall.
Tuesday, February 19 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: #8 Lasell at #1 Albertus Magnus - 8:00 PM
Game 2: #5 Colby-Sawyer at #4 Emmanuel - 7:30 PM
Game 3: #6 Saint Joseph's (Maine) at #3 JWU - 7:00 PM
Game 4: #7 Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #2 Suffolk - 7:00 PM
Thursday, February 21 - Semifinals (at higher seeds)
Game 5: 4/5 winner vs. 1/8 winner
Game 6: 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner
Saturday, February 23 - Championship
Game 7: at highest remaining seed