With 22 points in tonight's contest, junior Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) became the 12th Albertus Magnus men's basketball player in program history to score over 1,000 points in his career. Watson was one of three Falcons to score in double figures to lead the Albertus Magnus men's basketball team to a 93-86 victory over Mount Ida College on Thursday night.
Senior James Economopoulos (Wallingford, Conn.) came off the bench to score 22 points as he began the game 7-of-7 from the floor. Economopoulos was 5-of-7 from behind the arc to tally a career-high in three-pointers made. Julian Sanders (Trumbull, Conn.) added 14 points off the bench for the Falcons as he hit four 3-pointers, his career-high as well.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, while Mount Ida falls to 3-5 on the year and 0-2 in league action.
The Falcons opened the game 0-of-9 in the first 2:30 and 1-of-11 in the opening three minutes before a dunk from Watson as the junior tallied his 1,000th career point at the 16:46 mark in the first half. Watson finished the night with 22 points and six rebounds in just 24 minutes played.
With the score tied at six, the Falcons jumped out to a 12-6 lead before Mount Ida battled back to tie the game once again. Mount Ida took its last lead of the night with 4:48 left in the opening frame on a layup by John Fortes before Albertus went on a 14-6 run to close out the half. The Falcons struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting 33.3%, before going into the break with a 44-37 advantage.
Albertus opened the second half with a 7-0 run before Mount Ida pulled to within one at 53-52 at the 14:30 mark. A 19-5 run by the Falcons extended their lead to 72-56 as Economopoulos hit his seventh-straight field goal. The Falcons pushed their lead out to 20 with just over three minutes to go as the 20-point advantage was their largest of the contest.
Arshad Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) dished out a season-high nine assists on the night to go along with five rebounds and two steals in 33 minutes of work. Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) added seven rebounds, four assists and six points for the Falcons.
After shooting 54.5% in the second half, including a 60% clip from behind the arc, the Falcons finished the game shooting 42.3%. Mount Ida shot 44.1% on the night as the Mustangs were led by Kenny Jean with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Evens St. Juste added 17 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Mustangs.
Albertus travels to Northfield, Vt. on Saturday to take on the Norwich Cadets in a GNAC match-up. That game is slated for 1:00 p.m.
