The No. 19 Albertus Magnus men's basketball team edged the Emmanuel College Saints 97-90 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday afternoon in Boston.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 12-1 on the year and a perfect 7-0 in GNAC play. Albertus remains unbeaten in regular-season GNAC play in its last 32 contests, dating back to the 2010-11 season when the Falcons lost to Saint Joseph's College of Maine 80-77 on Jan. 29, 2011. The Falcons' 32-game streak is currently the longest in the nation in Division III men's basketball. Buffalo State University and Becker College hold the all-time Division III men's basketball record at 37-straight regular-season conference wins.
In today's contest, the Falcons were led by five players in double-figures as James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.) and Jefferson Lora (Bronx, N.Y.) both tallied 18 points. Lora added 12 rebounds in the contest. With the loss, Emmanuel dropped to 3-10 on the year and 3-3 in GNAC action.
After the game opened with a 9-8 Falcons' lead, Albertus jumped out to a 22-13 advantage before Emmanuel battled back to take its last lead of the day at 35-34. The Falcons closed out the first half with a 20-7 run to take a 54-42 lead at the break.
Emmanuel cut the Falcons lead to 10 (78-68) with 7:35 remaining in the contest before the Falcons extended their lead led by a free throw by Zach Dugas (Monroe, Conn.) and a basket by Lemar Larsen (New Haven, Conn.). The Saints cut the Falcons lead at the end of the contest but Albertus ran away with the seven-point victory.
Arshad Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) added 14 points and six assists for the Falcons, while Larsen tied his career-high with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Julian Sanders (Trumbull, Conn.) came off the bench to score 11 points in 18 minutes of play.
Today's win also gives head coach Mitch Oliver the 99th of his career as he improved to 99-55 at the helm of the Falcons. Oliver is currently in his sixth season at Albertus.
The Falcons return to New Haven to host Suffolk University in a GNAC match-up on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The Falcons' contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
