NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team won their third straight game behind a dominant 93-67 road victory over the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup inside the Hogan Sports Center.
Senior Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.) led the Falcons' offense with a 23-point performance, while Jacqual Gertrude (Jersey City, N.J.) and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) chipped in with 14 points and 13 points, respectively.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 93 | Colby-Sawyer 67
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (14-6, 12-3 GNAC) | Colby-Sawyer (8-13, 5-10 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was an offensive battle between Albertus and Colby-Sawyer over the first three minutes of play as both teams battled through two ties until a pair of free throws from Crawford gave the visitors the two-point advantage early on, 7-5.
A few seconds later, Colby-Sawyers' Kevin Cummings hit a deep three to give the hosts the lead once again, 8-7, but the Falcons resumed control offensively, answering back with a 6-2 spurt to take a 13-10 lead, heading into the first media timeout of the game.
Out of the break, the Falcons continued to pile on the pressure, putting together a 9-2 run to take a 22-12 lead, with Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn. ) contributing six points on three lay-ups. Colby-Sawyer's Conner Kelly scored on a traditional three-point play to make it a 22-15 game, before the Falcons responded with another 6-0 push to take the 13-point lead, 28-15, with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half.
Out of the media timeout, the Chargers rallied for a 5-2 run to make it a 10-point game, 30-20, with just under five minutes remaining in the half. A Crawford lay-up at the 4:17 mark broke up the Chargers' run and pushed the Falcon's advantage to 12, 32-20. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half with the Falcons taking a 40-29 lead into the halftime break.
Warner opened the second half with an immediate three-pointer after a steal from Qualon Wilkes (Bridgeport, Conn.) to extend the lead to 43-29. Crawford continued the Falcon's push with a traditional three-point play, increasing the Falcons' early run to 6-0, and the score to 46-29. A foul under the basket on Wilkes sent the Bridgeport, Conn. native to the charity stripe, where he cashed in with a pair of made free throws, continuing the Falcons' second-half push. A Warner jumper widened the lead to 50-29, and the Falcons' run to 10-0 and forced a Chargers' timeout at the 16:52 mark.
Out of the break, Colby-Sawyer finally got something going, as Omar Boone capitalized on a traditional three-point play to halt the Falcons' run. A Washington layup seconds later was quickly negated by a Chargers' layup, pushing the score to 52-34 in favor of the visitors, with just over 16 minutes left to play in regulation.
Despite a 5-2 push from the Chargers, the Falcons responded with a 10-2 run, highlighted by five points from Warner, three from Rob Tindley (Lawnside, N.J.), and two from Saikwon Williams (Norwalk, Conn.), to extend their lead to 23, 64-41. The Chargers retaliated with a quick 6-3 push to cut the deficit to 20, 67-47, but the Falcons would head into a media timeout up 69-49 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half.
The teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes, with Albertus taking an 89-67 lead into the final minute and a half of regulation. Albertus' Gertrude nailed a three-point jumper to push the Falcons' lead to 92-67 with a minute left on the clock. For the remainder of the contest, Albertus maintained its double-digit lead en route to the 93-67 road victory over the Chargers.
TEAM STATS
Albertus: 50% FG | 4.90% 3PT | 74.3% FT
Colby-Sawyer: 41.7% FG | 22.7% 3PT | 85.7% FT
KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:
- Davon Warner - 23 points (9-18 FG, 4-11 3PT, 1-2 FT) | 2 rebounds | 2 assists | 3 steals
- Jacqual Gertrude - 14 points (3-3 FG, 3-3 3PT, 5-9 FT) | 1 rebound
- Kevin Crawford - 13 points (5-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-5 FT) | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
Colby-Sawyer:
- Omar Boone - 27 points (9-17 FG, 1-4 3PT, 8-9 FT) | 9 rebounds | 1 assist |1 steal
- Scott Lampron - 12 points (5-15 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-1 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal
- Conor Kelley - 11 points (4-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 4 rebounds | 1 steal
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the ninth all-time meeting between the Falcons and Chargers.
- Today's win marks the Falcons' fifth all-time against Colby-Sawyer and improves the all-time record to 5-4 against the Chargers.
- 32 of the Falcons' points were scored off turnovers.
- Warner has scored 20 or more points in three straight games.
- Gertrude's 14-point performance was a season-best.
- Crawford tied his season-high in rebounds with five.
- Robby Simmons (Hartford, Conn.) led the defensive unit with a season-best two blocks.
UP NEXT
The men's basketball team returns home on Sunday, February 13 with a GNAC clash against the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University. Game-time is set for 2 PM inside "The Nest".
