NEW HAVEN, Conn. - In a showdown with the No. 1 nationally-ranked University of Saint Joseph (CT), the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 83-69 setback at home in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Wednesday evening inside "The Nest".  

Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Falcons with a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds), while Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) and Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored 12 points and 10 points, respectively. Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) also had a great game for the Falcons, scoring nine points and grabbing nine boards, to go along with three blocks and a steal.       

THE BASICS
Final: USJ 83 | AMC 69  
Records: Albertus Magnus (6-7, 5-2 GNAC) | USJ (CT) (14-0, 7-0 GNAC)  
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons brought the pressure early, racing out to a 6-0 lead following four points from Dawkins and two from Daniels. 

• The Blue Jays responded shortly after with a 4-0 push before a Washington basket at the 16:00 minute mark halted the run, making the score 8-4 in favor of the Falcons. 
• The teams battled back and forth over the next five minutes until baskets from USJ's Ryan O'Neill and Jake Sullivan evened the game, 12-12, at the 11:27 mark. 
• From there, USJ kept things rolling, putting together a 19-7 run that pushed its advantage to 12, 31-19, with 3:32 remaining in the first half.

• A Blue Jays foul at the 2:57 mark sent Tashawn Tokley (Merchantville, N.J.) to the charity stripe, where the junior guard promptly nailed both free throws to cut the deficit to 10, 31-21. 
• Despite four points from Daniels, USJ closed out the half with an 8-4 run to send the teams into the halftime break with the Falcons trailing 39-25. 
• The first four minutes of the second half saw Albertus and USJ counter each other's made basket until a Bonilla three-pointer at the 16:10 mark sparked a 13-5 Falcon run that saw the host's cut their deficit to five, 53-48, with just under 13 minutes left to play. 

• The Blue Jays answered back with a 6-2 run to expand their lead to nine, 59-50, before Bonilla hit paydirt again with a swooshing three-pointer to cut the deficit back to six, 59-53, with 10:26 remaining in regulation. 

• USJ surged ahead with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes of play to take a commanding 74-57 lead with 5:04 left on the clock. 
• Despite a 12-9 push from the Falcons over the final few minutes of play, the deficit proved too much for the hosts to overcome, and the Falcons fell to the Blue Jays in conference action by a final score of 83-69.   

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 37.3% FG | 14.3% 3PT | 68.8% FT
USJ (CT): 43.5% FG | 28.6% 3PT | 67.5% FT

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Terry Dawkins - 18 points (7-16 FG, 4-5 FT) |  12 rebounds | 2 assists 
Antonio Bonilla - 12 points (5-14 FG, 2-11 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 1 steal
Tazhon Daniels - 10 points (4-12 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 4  rebounds | 1 assist

USJ-CT:  
Jaecee Martin - 22 points (6-10 FG, 10-12 FT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal
Delshawn Jackson Jr. - 22 points (9-16 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-4 FT) | 3 rebounds 
Ryan O'Neil - 14 points (4-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 6-8 FT) | 2 rebounds 
Jalen Samuels - 10 points (3-7 FG, 4-7 FT) | 4 rebounds | 2 steals

NOTEWORTHY

• Dawkins recorded his 11th game of the season with at least 10 points. 
• Dawkins also secured his fourth double-double of the season. 
• Daniels recorded his sixth game of the year with 10+ points and his second consecutive game. 
• Washington recorded his 10 multi-block game of the season. 
• Following tonight's 18-point performance, Dawkins is just two points shy of recording his 1,000th career point. 
• Bonilla has scored 10+ points in the last six games for the Falcons. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons continue GNAC play on Saturday, January 14th, with a road showdown against the Lasers of Lasell University. Tip-off is set for 4 PM inside the Lasell Athletic Center.