WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team fell on the road to nationally-ranked No. 1 University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Tuesday evening inside the O'Connell Athletic Center by a final score of 88-64 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Graduate student Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led the offensive attack with 16 points, six rebounds, and an assist, while freshman Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with a 14-point performance.          

THE BASICS
Final: USJ (CT) 88 |  Albertus Magnus 64 
Records: Albertus Magnus (12-8, 10-3 GNAC) | USJ (CT) ( 21-0, 14-0 GNAC)
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams battled through four ties over the first 4:30 of play to make it an 8-8 game before an 8-2 run from the Blue Jays pushed the hosts' advantage to six, 16-10, with 12:47 on the clock.
• The Falcons retaliated shortly after as a layup from Saikwon Williams (Norwalk, Conn.) sparked a 6-4 run to make it a four-point contest, 20-16.
• USJ resumed control of the game and found themselves ahead as many as 13 on two occasions heading into the final 2:21 of the first half.
• Trailing 36-23, the Falcons went on an 8-3 run over the final two minutes of the first half to send the teams into the halftime break, with the Falcons trailing by eight, 39-31. 
• During the final first-half stretch, Dawkins, Slade, and Tyrone Cummings (New Britain, Conn.) scored for the Falcons, including a buzzer-beater from Cummings. 
• The Blue Jays opened the second half with an 18-5 run to take a commanding 20-point lead, 55-35, heading into a media timeout at 14:19.
• The Falcons' first five points of the second half came from Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.), Cummings, and Dawkins. 
• USJ continued to put on a show out of the break and increased its lead to 28, 68-40, following a dunk by Alec Kinder at the 10:08 mark.
• Shortly after, a 6-3 Falcon' run, capped by a thunderous dunk from Washington, cut the Falcons' deficit to 71-46 with 8:22 remaining in regulation. 
• Albertus continued to chip away at the double-digit deficit but was unsuccessful in securing the late comeback, falling to the Blue Jays on the road by a final score of 88-64.  

TEAM STATS

Albertus: 32.9 % FG | 22.2 % 3PT | 76.2 % FT
USJ (CT): 47.5 % FG | 46.7 % 3PT | 75.8 % FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Terry Dawkins - 16 points (4-11 FG, 8-11 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist  
Jeyson Slade - 14 points (4-8 FG, 2-2 3PT,4-4 FT) | 4 rebounds | 1 assist  

USJ (CT):
Ryan O'Neill - 26 points (7-13 FG, 3-7 3PT, 9-10 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals  
Jaecee Martin - 15 points (5-12 FG, 5-6 FT) | 3 rebounds | 1 block  
Alec Kinder -10  points (3-3 FG, 4-8 FT) | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 4 steals | 4 blocks  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons are 2-7 all-time against the Blue Jays following tonight's setback. 
• Slade tied his season-high in points with 14 points.
• Dawkins has scored 10+ points in nine straight contests. 
• Dawkins and Washington finished with a team-high six rebounds.
• Jordan Williams (New Haven, Conn.) registered a season-high seven points.
• Washington finished with a team-high three rebounds. 

UP NEXT

The Falcons return to the court on Thursday, February 2nd, for a home GNAC tilt against the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.