Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales men's basketball team knocked off visiting Albertus Magnus College, 75-70, in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Wildcat Center.
The Falcons (3-2, 1-1 GNAC) erased a 14-point halftime deficit thanks to forcing 11 second-half Wildcat (2-3, 2-1 GNAC) turnovers. JWU has now won three straight against AMC in the Ocean State.
After forcing two straight Albertus Magnus turnovers to start the extra frame, Johnson & Wales took a 70-67 edge following a trey from Edson Dascy. On the ensuing possession, the Falcons grabbed an offensive rebounmd and after a foul, missed a pair of a free throws. In transition, the Wildcats took a five-point lead thanks to a tip in from Randall Ferdinand.
Albertus Magnus cut the deficit to three at 72-69 courtesy of a layup from junior forward Jaqhawn Walters (Hartford, Conn.). With just over a minute remaining in the frame, Ferdinand hit a jumper to make it a five-point game once again and the Wildcats forced another AMC turnover. The two squads traded single free throws apiece over the final 42 seconds as the hosts escaped with the win.
Senior Devin Coleman (Bridgeport, Conn.) paced the Falcon attack with a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. Coleman has now scored 20 or more points in three consecutive games. Sophomore guard Ryan Pittman (Stratford, Conn.) netted 13 points for Albertus Magnus, while Walters was the AMC player in double figures with 12 points. Pittman dished out a team-best four assists and Walters registered his third doube-double in a row thanks to pulling down 10 rebounds.
The balanced offensive attack for Johnson & Wales saw four players score in double figures led by senior guard Anthony Jernigan with 20 points. Jernignan had a full stat sheets as he grabbed eight boards, had six assists and recorded six steals. Junior center Michael Kiser was a force in the post, scoring 19 and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds for a double-double. Ferdiand and junior sharshooter Jarrell Lawson also scored in double figures for the hosts with 11 and 13 points, respectively.
Albertus Magnus struggled shooting the ball in the first half, hitting 28.6 percent (8-of-28) of its shots from the field and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the free-throw line. Midway through the first stanza, JWU blew open a five-point game at 25-20 with a 7-0 run to build a double digit lead. Later in the frame, the hosts built their lead to as many 16 after a Ferdinand jumper with just under two minutes until the break. Pittman capped the scoring in the half with a pair of free throws as Albertus Magnus trailed, 39-25, at halftime.
Albertus Magnus was able to cut the deficit to single digits early in the second half. Trailing 56-45 with under nine minutes to go, the guests reeled off 11 straight points capped by a layup from Coleman to knot the game at 56 with five minutes left. Back-and-forth the two conference foes would go and a jumper from Coleman gave AMC a 62-60 lead with 2:30 left. With less than 90 seconds left, junior Erick Langston (Stratford, Conn.) scored the final four Albertus Magnus points to give the visitors a 67-66 lead with 32 second left. Ferdinand was fouled with seven seconds left and hit one of two free throws to force overtime.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Tuesday, December 6, with a home non-conference showdown versus Newbury that is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. The Falcons have won back-to-back games against the Nighthawks, taking the last meeting, 109-57, in January of 2015.
For the latest information on the men's basketball team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.
