The No. 19 Albertus Magnus men's basketball team cruised to a 95-76 victory over Suffolk University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Tuesday night as the Falcons improved to 13-1 on the year and a perfect 8-0 in GNAC play.
Tonight's win also marked head coach Mitch Oliver's 100th victory of his career as the program's all-time winningiest coach is now 100-55 at the helm of the Falcons' men's basketball program.
Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) led all scorers with 24 points as he moved up to eighth place on the Albertus Magnus men's basketball all-time scoring list. Watson, who now has 1,147 career points, surpassed both Jayson Douthwright (1999-03) and Brian Fogle (1992-96) on that list.
Watson also pulled down 10 rebounds, including seven on the defensive end, to register his second double-double of the season.
Arshad Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) posted his first 20-point game of the year as he finished the night with four steals, three assists and seven rebounds to go along with his 8-of-15 showing from the field. James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.) added 13 points in 23 minutes of work. Lemar Larsen (New Haven, Conn.) chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds for the Falcons.
Jefferson Lora (Bronx, N.Y.) had a big game in the paint for the Falcons as he pulled down a game-best 16 boards, one shy of his career-high, while he added 14 points and four blocked shots. Lora recorded 10 of his 16 rebounds in the first half of play.
After both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the game, the Falcons were able to jump out to an 18-12 lead before Suffolk battled back to take a 19-18 advantage. Late in the half, Suffolk took a 42-39 lead with less than a minute to play before a 5-0 Falcon run gave the home team a 44-42 lead going into the break. Jennings recorded all five of those Albertus points.
The Falcons opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take a commanding 57-44 lead and never looked back as their largest lead of the contest came with 1:09 to go in regulation as they went ahead by 23.
Albertus remains unbeaten in regular-season GNAC play in its last 33 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' 33-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.
The Falcons return to action on Thursday night as they travel to Mount Ida College for a 5:00 p.m. GNAC match-up. The Mustangs are 1-7 in league action this season.
