New Haven, Conn. –The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team enjoyed the sweet taste of revenge on Tuesday night, eliminating the seventh-seeded Rams of Suffolk University from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament in a nail-biting 82-79 home victory at "The Nest". With the win, the Falcons avenge the 81-68 loss they suffered to the Rams earlier this season and extend their current winning streak to seven games. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 82  | Suffolk University 79
RECORDS: #2 Albertus Magnus (21-4 GNAC) | #7 Suffolk (14-12 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons struck first on a made lay-up by Jahmerikah Green-Younger (Norwalk, Conn.), before Tyreek Perkins (New Haven, Conn.) drained a pair of free throws to give the Falcons the lead, 4-2. The Rams' Brendan Mulson retaliated with a made lay-up, erasing the deficit and tying it 4-4 two minutes in. 

The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, with the Rams coming out ahead, 10-8. Green-Younger was then fouled on a three-point attempt, and swished all three of his free throws, bringing the Falcons to within one, 12-11, with 15:24 remaining. The Rams then went on a 5-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Jonathan Eng, to take a six-point lead, 17-11. 

The Falcons retaliated with a three-point play from Qualon Wilkes (Bridgeport, Conn.) to cut the deficit to three, 17-14. A deep three-pointer from Suffolk's Cameron Powers forced an Falcons time-out and put the visitors up six, 20-14, before Albertus' Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) swished back-to-back treys to tie it at 20.

The Rams roared back with a 14-2 run, giving the visitors their largest lead of the day, 34-22, with just under nine minutes to play. Rob Tindley (Lawnside, N.J.) got the Falcons back on track and sparked a 15-5 run to tie the game at 39-all with a 1:30 on the clock.  

Soon after, Suffolk's Cameron Powers scored an easy lay-up, giving the visitor's the lead again, 41-39, but a pair of free throws from Andrew Rice (West Haven, Conn.) evened the game at 41-all heading into the halftime break.

Green-Younger scored the first five points of the second half, giving the Falcons the lead once more, 46-41. The Rams then went on a 7-4 run to trim the deficit to two, 50-48. Shortly after, back-to-back baskets from Green-Younger and a Rice lay-up made it a two-possession game, 56-52, with 12:30 left on the clock.  

With just under nine minutes remaining in regulation, the Rams battled back to within one, 64-63, but the Falcons retaliated with a lay-up from Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) to cushion the lead, 66-63. A foul on Tindley led to a pair of made free throws, regaining the lead for the Falcons, 68-67, before the Rams went on another short spurt, taking the lead 72-68 and forcing the Falcons to call a time-out.     

Out of the break, the Falcons then went on a 9-0 run to take a 77-72 lead with 2:15 remaining in regulation, but the Rams answered with a 7-3 run to get within one, 80-79, with twelve seconds remaining.

A foul on Green-Younger resulted in a pair of made free throws bringing the Falcons to 82-79. The Rams were unable to respond in the last few seconds and the nail-biter ended in a quarterfinal Falcon victory.  

TEAM STATS

• Albertus - 44.8% FG | 38.9%3PT| 76.7%FT
• Suffolk - 42.2% FG | 37%3PT | 78.9%FT
• This game had eight ties and nine lead changes.

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

• Jahmerikah Green-Younger - 23 points (8-18 FG, 2-9 3PT, 5-5 FT) | 3 rebounds | 3 assists
• Tyreek Perkins - 13 points (4-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-8 FT) | 4 rebounds |4 assists | 2 steals | 1 block
• Terry Dawkins - 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist
• Rob Tindley - 10 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assist
• Andrew Rice - 11 points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6-6 FT) | 1 rebound | 1 assist | 1 block 

Suffolk:

• Thomas Duffy - 24 points (10-20 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-3 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists
• Jonathan Eng - 19 points (6-9 FG, 6-9 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 1 steal
• Cameron Powers - 13 points (4-10 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-6 FT) | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
• Brendan Mulson - 11 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3PT) | 9 rebounds | 5 assists 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons are now 27-17 all-time against the Rams. 
• The Falcons have an all-time play-off record of 34-11, and are 2-0 all-time against the Rams in postseason play.  
• Albertus recorded a season-low seven turnovers.
• Freshman Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) led the defensive attack with two blocks to go with four rebounds. 
• The Falcons scored 25 of their points off 15 Rams' turnovers.
• Albertus outscored Suffolk in the paint, 32-30, but the visitors held a 19-2 advantage in second chance points. 
• Green-Younger led the Falcons in scoring for the fifth straight game as well as recorded his seventh 20-point performance. 
• With tonight's win, Head Coach Mitch Oliver has recorded his 272nd win after taking over the reigns in 2007. 

UP NEXT
The second-seeded Falcons will host sixth-seeded Lasell University in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27th at 7PM in New Haven, Conn. 

GNAC Tournament Schedule

Semifinals - Thursday, February 27 (at high seeds)
Game 5: #4 Anna Maria vs. #1 St. Joseph (CT) - 7:00 PM
Game 6: #6 Lasell vs. #2 Albertus Magnus - 7:00 PM

Championship - Saturday, February 29 (at highest remaining seed)
Game 7: At highest remaining seed