Albertus Magnus College
Men's Basketball GNAC Tournament Preview

#2S Albertus Magnus (18-9)
at
#1S University of Saint Joseph (CT) (27-0)
Sunday, Feb. 26 • 1 p.m. • O'Connell Center

WE ARE HEADING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

The second seed of the South Division, the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team held off the top seed of the North Division Emmanuel (Mass.) College, 75-71, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament semifinal on Friday evening in Boston, Mass., advancing the Falcons to their 11th straight GNAC Championship Game.

The Falcons will square off against the top-seed of the South Division, the No. 1 nationally ranked Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph (CT), in the Championship game on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 1:00 PM inside the O'Connell Center in West Hartford, Conn.

POSTSEASON NOTES

• This year marks Albertus' 22nd all-time appearance in the GNAC Tournament.
• The Falcons own a 39-13 overall record in the league tournament.
• AMC has won eight consecutive home GNAC Tournament games.
• Albertus made the GNAC semifinals in each of their last 14 seasons.
• Albertus has won eight GNAC Tournament Titles, with head coach Mitch Oliver leading them to seven championships.
• The Falcons are making their 11th straight appearance in the GNAC Championship Game.
• The Falcons own the third-longest active streak in all three divisions (I, II, and III), behind Gonzaga University and Whitworth University, of consecutively appearing in their conference's title game. Both Gonzaga and Whitworth have a total of 18 championship tournament appearances. 

2022-2023 RECAP

• Albertus opened the season with a challenging non-conference schedule, which included contests against Amherst College, Mitchell College, 14th-ranked Keene State, and in-state, Division I neighbor Quinnipiac University.    
• The Falcons kicked off the month of December with their conference opener against Emmanuel (Mass.) College and suffered a hard-fought 83-79 loss.
• AMC then reeled off back-to-back victories over Dean College and Norwich University before losing to non-conference challenger Kean College.
• After the Cougars' loss, Albertus rallied for four victories over Nichols College, Regis (Mass.) College, Anna Maria College, and Colby-Sawyer College.
• A home setback against No.1 Saint Joseph (CT) preceded a six-game winning streak, wherein the Falcons bulldozed their way through Lasell University, Elms College, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Dean College, and Johnson & Wales University.
• During their six-game winning streak, the Falcons took down NESCAC challenger Connecticut College in a thrilling 73-70 overtime victory.
• Albertus finished the regular season with a 4-2 stretch, defeating JWU, Elms, and Lasell for a second time while also taking down conference-opponent Rivier University.

GNAC TOURNAMENT SUMMARY

Quarterfinals vs. Colby-Sawyer

• Final Score: Albertus 128 | Colby-Sawyer 74 – BOX SCORE
• Key Highlight: The 128 points scored was a new program record for points in a single game, eclipsing the previous high of 125 set in 2019 against Lesley College.
• Key Highlight: Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) and Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) led the charge for the Falcons, scoring 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Semifinals vs. Emmanuel (Mass.)

• Final Score: Albertus 75 | Emmanuel (Mass.) 71 – BOX SCORE
• Key Highlight: Graduate forward Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led all players with a 27-point outburst, while Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) put together his best performance of the season with a 21-point showing.   

THIS YEAR AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH (CT)

• Game 1: Saint Joseph (CT) 83 | Albertus Magnus 69 - BOX SCORE
• Game 2: Saint Joseph (CT) 88 | Albertus Magnus 64 - BOX SCORE

SCOUTING ALBERTUS MAGNUS

• Points Per Game: 84.0 PPG (1^st in GNAC)
• Rebounds Per Game: 46.7 RPG (1st in GNAC)
• Assists Per Game: 13.3 APG (8th in GNAC)
• Scoring Defense: 75.1 PPG (8th in GNAC)

ALBERTUS MAGNUS PLAYER & TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Dawkins has been an absolute menace in the paint for the Falcons, placing third in the conference in scoring a team-leading 17.3 points per game to go with 8.1 rebounds per game.
• Elsewhere, teammate Washington has been equally dominant in the paint, leading the GNAC in offensive rebounds (95), total rebounds (263), rebounds per game (10.5), and blocks (64).
• Albertus leads the country in rebound margin (+13.0), is second nationally in rebounds per game at 46.74, and is fifth in offensive rebounds per game (16.74).
• The Falcons' third threat on the court is junior transfer Bonilla, who leads the conference in three-pointers with 68 while ranking second on the team, scoring behind 11.5 points per game.
• Bonilla also cemented himself in the program-record books with a 36-point performance against Saint Joseph's College of Maine, including ten made three-pointers.
• The Falcons also lead the conference in offensive rebounds per game (16.7), defensive rebounds per game (30.), rebound margin (13.0), and blocks per game (4.7).

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH (CT)

• Points Per Game: 84.0 (2nd in GNAC)
• Rebounds Per Game: 43.0 RPG (2nd in GNAC)
• Assists Per Game: 15.1 APG (2nd in GNAC)
• Scoring Defense: 58.0 PPG (1st in GNAC)

SAINT JOSEPH (CT) PLAYER & TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Blue Jays have four players averaging ten or more points per game, including a team-leading 15.9 points from Ryan O'Neill.
• O'Neill also ranks second in the league in three-point percentage with 42.4%, followed by Delshawn Jackson Jr. with 42.0%.
• Alec Kinder leads Saint Joseph and ranks fourth in the conference with 8.1 rebounds per game, averaging 7.3 points and 1.2 blocks per game.
• Saint Joseph leads the nation in scoring margin (26.0), defensive field goal percentage (35.2%), and defensive three-point percentage (27.1).