NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team defeated the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) divisional showdown Thursday evening inside "The Nest" by a final score of 79-51.

Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) led the Falcons with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while teammate Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) recorded a double-double behind a 12-point, 16-rebound showing. Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) also finished in double-digits for the Falcons with 11 points.

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 79 | JWU 51     
Records: Albertus Magnus (13-8, 11-3 GNAC) | JWU (9-11, 6-7 GNAC)  
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus and JWU battled through two ties over the first three minutes of play until a three-point jumper from Bonilla sparked a 12-0 run that saw the Falcons pull ahead by 11, 18-7, with 13:35 on the clock. 
• A 6-3 spurt from the Wildcats was countered by a 3-0 push from the Falcons on baskets from Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Dawkins to make it a 24-13 game.  
• For the next four-and-a-half minutes, the teams played tight defense before a jumper from Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) sparked a 4-0 Falcons push that gave the hosts' the 31-15 lead. 
• The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first, with the Falcons taking the 36-22 lead into the halftime break. 
• AMC opened the first two minutes of the second stanza with a 6-2 run to increase its lead to 18, 42-24. 
• The Wildcats countered with a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 44-31 before a Washington lay-up at the 15:34 mark increased the lead back to 15, 46-31. 
• Albertus and JWU continued to battle offensively, running the score to 56-38 with just under 11 minutes remaining in regulation. 
• From there, the Falcons erupted for a 9-3 run, including six points from Saikwon Williams (Norwalk, Conn.), that pushed their advantage to 65-41 with 8:39 left on the clock. 
• The back-and-forth battle continued between Albertus and JWU, but the Falcons never let up offensively, securing the 79-51 conference victory.      

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 46.6% FG | 25% 3PT | 38.9% FT
JWU: 30.2% FG | 11.1% 3PT | 64.7% FT 

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus:
Terry Dawkins- 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-4 FT) | 8 rebounds  
Justice Washington- 12 points (6-9 FG) | 16 rebounds | 1 assist | 4 blocks 
Antonio Bonilla- 11 points (4-11 FG, 3-8 3PT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal

JWU:
Josh Zangerle- 19 points (8-17 FG, 0-5 3PT, 3-3 FT) | 8 rebounds | 1 assist
Aireus Raspberry- 16 points (5-16 FG, 1-7 3PT, 5-6 FT) | 1 rebound | 2 assists | 1 steal   

NOTEWORTHY

• Tonight's game marked the 59th all-time meeting between the Falcons and Wildcats.
• After tonight's win, Albertus holds a 30-29 lead in the all-time series. 
• Washington recorded his 11th double-double of the season. 
• Washington also finished with a team-high four blocks.  
• Dawkins tallied his 14th game of the season with 15+ points.  
• Along with Washington, Williams also served as a defensive threat for the blue-and-white, recording three of the Falcons' eight blocks.
• Slade tallied the blue-and-white final block of the evening. 

UP NEXT 

The Falcons return to the court on Saturday, February 4th, for a road contest against the Raiders of Rivier University. Tip-off is set for 3 PM inside the Muldoon Gymnasium in Nashua, New Hampshire.