Link: Box Score
New Haven, Conn. – Albertus Magnus College men's basketball head coach Mitch Oliver earned his 250th career win as the top-seeded Falcons defeated fourth-seeded Emmanuel College, 104-93, in the semifinals on Thursday evening at "The Nest" to advance to its eighth straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus College 104 | Emmanuel College 93
RECORDS: #1 Albertus Magnus (19-7) | #4 Emmanuel (18-8)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Albertus is 2-0 against Emmanuel in postseason play.
- The Falcons improve their all-time postseason record to 32-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half:
- Albertus raced out to a quick 5-0 lead, but a four-point play by Isaiah Ruffen pulled the Saints to within two, 11-9.
- A Ruffen three gave the Saints their first lead of the night, 16-15, but the Falcons rattled off five quick points capped by a three by senior Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) to pull the Falcons ahead 20-16 with 14:42 left in the half.
- Emmanuel's Ira Lough drained a deep three to even the score at 22-22 before the squads traded points to keep it even at 24-all.
- An 8-0 run by the Falcons forced the Saints to call a timeout trailing 32-24 with 10:49 left on the clock.
- Emmanuel ended the run with a pair of free throws on the next possession to bring the score to 32-26.
- With 5:32 to play in the half, a pair of Pittman free throws gave the Falcons their first double-digit lead, 44-34, before the hosts built the lead to 54-41 heading into halftime.
Second Half:
- Emmanuel opened the second frame cutting the deficit to within four, 55-51, two minutes in.
- With 15:14 to play, Joe Tamburro evened the score at 61-61 before a three point play by Zachary Crisafulli gave the Saints a 64-61 lead.
- A thunderous dunk off a spin move from Liam Perryman (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) brought the crowd to its feet to give the Falcons a one-point edge, 65-64.
- A 10-2 run by the Falcons fueled by five points from Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) bumped the hosts lead back to nine, 75-66.
- A jumper by Riddick and a pair of Tamburro free throws made it a one-possession game, 79-76, before Tamburro's layup cut the deficit to one, 81-80, with 6:12 to play in regulation.
- The Saints had a chance to regain the lead with four free throws, but only converted one of the four to keep the advantage at 85-83, Falcons.
- Albertus scored the next four points to extend the lead to 89-83 but a Crisafulli put back with 2:56 to play once again made it a one-possession game at 90-87.
- A steal and layup by Andrew Rice (West Haven, Conn.) with just over a minute remaining made it 97-87 and all but sealed the win for the Falcons who closed out the game at the free throw line for the 104-93 victory
KEY PERFORMANCES
Albertus:
- Davon Warner – 21 Points (8-20 FG, 5-11 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 4 steals
- Jahmerikah Green-Younger (Norwalk, Conn.) – 18 Points (5-9 FG, 0-4 3PT, 8-8 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 assist
- Ryan Pittman – 14 points (3-9 FG, 0-3 3PT, 8-10 FT) | 8 rebounds | 6 assists | 3 steals
- Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) – 10 points (2-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, 5-8 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assists | 2 steals
- Andrew Rice – 9 points (3-4 FG, 3-6 FT) | 9 rebounds | 2 assists | 3 steals
Emmanuel:
- Emmett Riddick – 19 Points | 1 rebound | 1 assist | 1 steal
- Isaiah Ruffen – 15 Points | 3 rebounds | 3 assists | 2 steals
- Joe Tamburro – 17 points | 6 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal
- Marcus Fox – 15 points | 7 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 block
- Zachary Crisafulli – 11 points | 6 rebounds | 4 assists | 1 block
UP NEXT
Albertus Magnus will host #7 University of Saint Joseph (CT) in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays defeated the Saint Joseph's College Monks by a 91-86 score to earn an appearance in the GNAC title game in their inaugural season.