PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to down Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Johnson & Wales University, 83-79, Tuesday evening inside the Wildcats Center. 

For the second straight game, senior Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) led the Falcon attack with 23 points to go along with four steals and a rebound. Senior Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) also scored in double-figures for the visitors as the duo tallied 12 points each. Junior Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers as well as tallied his sixth double-double of the season behind a 10-point, 10-rebound performance. 

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus 83 | Johnson & Wales 79 (OT)
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (12-6, 10-3 GNAC) | JWU (8-10, 6-6 GNAC)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

Johnson & Wales came out of the gate scoring five unanswered points over the first three minutes of play to take the early 5-0 lead until a layup from Warner, at the 16:45 mark, broke the Falcons' drought and brought the score to 5-2. Over the next minute, Johnson & Wales and Albertus traded baskets before back-to-back baskets from the Wildcats' Bobby Fiorito and Tim Deng increased the hosts' lead to six, 11-5, forcing Coach Oliver to call his first timeout.

Out of the break, Washington hit two big free throws after being fouled in the paint to cut the deficit to within four, 11-7, but another spurt by the Wildcats pushed their lead to 10, 19-9, with just over 11 minutes remaining in the half. Shortly after, the Wildcats' lead started to dwindle as a three from Rob Tindley (Lawnside, N.J.) and a layup from Isaiah Lewis (New Haven, Conn.) brought the score to within five, 19-14, but the hosts answered back by pushing its lead back-up to eight, 22-14, at the 9:35 mark.

The Falcons continued to battle offensively, putting together an 11-2 run, highlighted by six points from Saikwon Williams (Norwalk, Conn.), over the next four minutes of play to take its first lead of the game, 25-24. However, Johnson & Wales resumed control of the game, 30-25, after rallying together a 6-0 run with 4:08 left to play in the first.

Albertus put together a quick 4-0 push to come within one, 30-29, with 2:38 left in the half, before a foul sent the Wildcats to the charity stripe. The foul pushed the Wildcats' lead back to three, 32-29, as Deng drained both shots from the charity stripe. Dawkins responded seconds later with his first basket of the night to return the deficit to one, 32-31.

The Wildcats closed out the half with an 8-0 run, including a last-second three-pointer, to send the teams into the break with the Falcons trailing by nine, 40-31. 

Warner got the Falcons started in the second half as the senior point guard put in an easy lay-up to ignite an 8-2 run that brought the Falcons to within three, 42-39, just four minutes in. From there, Albertus and Johnson & Wales exchanged baskets until a layup from Crawford at 10:16 and a free throw from Robby Simmons (Hartford, Conn.) at 9:54 evened the game at 51-all.

From there, Albertus and Johnson & Wales fought for the lead, battling through five lead changes and two ties over the next five minutes of play with the Wildcats on top, 61-59, heading into a timeout at the 4:54 mark. Out of the break, the back-and-forth action continued as the Falcons and Wildcats forced three ties and two lead changes heading into the final minute of regulation. 

Washington broke the 67-67 tie following a made layup with 42 seconds on the clock, but a steal and pair of free throws from Fiorito evened the game once again, 69-69, forcing Albertus to call a timeout with 13.3 seconds left on the clock. With the clock ticking down, Albertus spread the floor for one last play, but a turnover forced the game to go into overtime. 

The final play of regulation did not deter the Falcons as the visitors took control early in overtime, opening the frame on a 5-2 run to take the three-point lead over the Wildcats, 74-71. Johnson & Wales rallied to within one on two occasions, but the Falcons ran their offense and made every basket count, especially heading into the final minute of overtime up three, 80-77.

Both teams maintained their composure offensively, staying within points of each other. With 16 seconds remaining, Johnson & Wales threatened the Falcons' lead with a made layup from Fiorito to bring the score to within two, 81-79, but late free throws from Crawford sealed the road victory, 83-79. 

TEAM STATS

• Albertus: 42.6 % FG | 23.8 % 3PT | 66.7 % FT
• JWU: 39.7 % FG | 15 % 3PT | 88.0 % FT 

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

• Davon Warner - 23 points (9-19 FG, 3-11 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 1 rebound | 4 steals
• Terry Dawkins - 12 points (3-7 FG, 6-8 FT) | 4 rebounds
• Kevin Crawford- 12 points (4-4 FG, 4-7 FT) | 5 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 steals 
• Justice Washington- 10 points (4-9 FG, 2-3 FT) | 10 rebounds | 2 assists | 6 blocks

JWU: 

• Aireus Raspberry - 25 points (10-28 FG, 2-10 3PT, 3-4 FT) | 6 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal | 3 blocks 
• Bobby Fiorito - 19 points (4-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 11-12 FT) | 2 rebounds | 2 steals 
• Josh Zangherle - 16 points (6-19 FG, 1-9 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 7 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals | 2 blocks  
• Tim Deng - 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-2 FT) | 6 rebounds | 1 assist |  3 steals | 1 block 

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the 55th meeting between the Falcons and Wildcats.
• The Falcons are now 26-29 all-time against the Wildcats following tonight's victory. 
• Warner recorded his second game of the season with 20+ points. 
• Washington recorded his sixth double-double of the season.
• Tonight's win marks the 285th career victory at Albertus for head coach Mitch Oliver.   
• Washington's six-block performance is a season-high for the junior center. 
• Warner also led the Falcons in steals in back-to-back games. 
• Washington also led the Falcons in rebounding in back-to-back games.
• Crawford recorded his seventh game of the season with at least 10 points. 

UP NEXT
The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team returns home on Thursday, February 10 with a GNAC clash against the Pride of Regis (Mass.) College. Tip-off is set for 7 PM inside "The Nest".