NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 2 seed Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team's quest for a 12th straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship game appearance fell just short, in an 88-87 defeat by the hands of third-seeded Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Thursday evening inside The Nest in the semifinals.
Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) finished with a monumental game, scoring a career-high 32 points on 15-for-22 shooting, with 17 rebounds. Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored 12 points to go with five assists. Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) scored 11 points and Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) each scored 10 points.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Saint Joseph's (Me.) 88 | Albertus Magnus 87
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (22-5) | Saint Joseph's (Me.) (18-9)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The game was a back-and-forth affair the entire evening as there were 20 ties and 44 lead changes.
- After conceding the first three points of the game, the Falcons took their first lead of the game just over a minute into the game after back-to-back layups from Washington and Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.).
- Five different players made the first five field goals of the game, with Tazhon Daniels making a layup at the 16:46 mark to put Albertus back up 10-8. That would start a stretch where the lead changed hands nine times over the next six minutes.
- Albertus took its first two-possession lead after a bucket from Tanksley gave the Falcons a 27-23 lead.
- Back-to-back threes from John Paul Frazier and Julian Llopiz put the Monks back up 29-27, but a three from Crawford on the ensuing possession started a 14-3 run that gave Albertus its biggest lead at 41-32 with 3:57 left. Bonilla scored five points during the run and Washington, four.
- However, the Monks finished on a 17-4 run over the remainder of the quarter as Llopiz scored eight points in the stretch, including two threes as they took a 49-45 lead into halftime.
- The Monks extended its lead to nine points on two different occasions early on in the second half, until a 9-0 run courtesy of Washington and Slade tied the game at 56-56. The Monks once again tried to pull away, taking a 67-60 lead, but the Falcons stormed back once again as a steal and emphatic dunk by Crawford tied the game at 74-74.
- With the game tied at 82-82, Slade hit a big three-pointer to give the Falcons a three-point lead, but just over a minute later, Camryn Yorke tied the game with a three of his own, making it an 85-85 game.
- On the next possession, the Falcons took the lead back after Washington grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it back in to make it an 87-85 game. The Monks couldn't answer on the next possession, but Albertus was unable to capitalize. After a timeout by Saint Joseph's, Llopiz hit his fifth three-pointer of the game, giving the Monks an 88-87 lead with 56 seconds left. The Monks went 16-for-33 from three.
- Albertus turned it over on the next possession on an offensive foul, but the Monks were unable to convert on the offensive end as Tanksley grabbed the rebound with 16 seconds left.
- On the possession, the Falcons were unable to convert, giving the Monks the win.
TEAM STATS
Albertus 49.3 FG% | 41.7 3PT% | 57.1 FT%
Saint Joseph's 47.1 FG% | 48.5 3PT% | 80.0 FT%
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Albertus
Justice Washington 32 Points | 15-22 FG | 17 Rebounds
Tazhon Daniels 12 Points | 5 Assists
Jeyson Slade 11 Points | 2-4 3PT
Antonio Bonilla 10 Points | 4 Rebounds
Kevin Crawford 10 Points | 5 Assists | 2 Steals
Saint Joseph's
Julian Llopiz 27 Points | 5-8 3PT
Remijo Wani 18 Points | 5 Rebounds | 3 Assists
Ashtyn Abbott 17 Points | 5 Rebounds | 3 Assists
NOTEWORTHY
- Washington moved up to 16th all-time in scoring in program history 1,055 points.
- Washington's double-double was the 18th of the season.
- The 22 wins for Albertus was the most in a season since the 2019-20 season when the team also had 22 wins. It is also the 11th time in program history the Falcons have had 20 or more wins in a season.
- Albertus had 56 points in the paint, tying a season-high.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will wait to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be on Monday, February 26 at 1 p.m.