STANDISH, Me. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball remained undefeated in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play after a thrilling 86-76 overtime win over Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Saturday afternoon on the road.
Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) led all Falcons with 23 points, while Justice Washington had 15 points and 15 rebounds and Jeyson Slade scored 16 points with seven rebounds. Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) came off the bench and had his second straight 19-point performance.
It was the third straight win for the Falcons.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 86 | Saint Joseph (Me.) 76 (OT)
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (12-3, 5-0 GNAC) | Saint Joseph (Me.) (7-9, 3-2 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Monks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, the Falcons responded with an 11-2 run led by two threes from Slade and one from Bonilla to take an 11-6 lead at the 16:09 mark.
- Albertus had its lead trimmed to three after a layup from Saint Joseph's Ashtyn Abbot made it an 11-8 game. The Falcons responded by taking their biggest lead of the game at 21-10 after Crawford scored six straight points.
- The Monks battled back to make it a 26-24 game on a three by Abbot before Slade and Crawford made back-to-back layups to put the Falcons back up by six points. However, the Monks scored seven straight and took a 31-30 with 4:54 remaining.
- Bonilla followed with a three to put the Falcons back in front at 33-31.
- A layup from Malcolm Duncanson gave Albertus a 42-40 lead, but the Monks would score the final five points in the half, the last three coming on free throws by John Paul Frazier after he was fouled on a three-pointer. The Monks took a 45-42 lead into the break.
- The Falcons regained the lead at 49-47 just less than six minutes into the second half on two free throws by Bonilla that were preceded by back-to-back buckets by Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.). Albertus would lead by as much as six points with 11:58 left, but two three-pointers from Julian Llopiz and one from Frazier put the Monks back up 61-57 with 6:55 left.
- The two teams swapped leads five more times over the next five minutes until a layup from Abbott with 20 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 71-71. The Falcons did not convert on the ensuing possession, sending the game into overtime.
- The Monks scored the first two points of overtime, but from there, it was all Albertus as the Falcons scored the next 11 points behind four points from Crawford and three from Tanksley, who followed a three-point play with a block on the other end that led to a rebound by Slade, who was fouled. Slade sank both free throws, putting the Falcons up 82-73.
- Albertus allowed just one field goal in overtime, forcing the Monks to shoot 1-for-9 from the field. The Falcons went 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, including 7-for-9 in the final two minutes to seal the win.
TEAM STATS
Albertus: 34.2 FG% | 25.0 3PT% | 74.3 FT%
Saint Joseph (Me.): 35.1 FG% | 26.5 3PT% | 100.0 FT%
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Albertus
- Antonio Bonilla 23 Points | 5 Rebounds | 4 Assists
- Justice Washington 15 Points | 15 Rebounds
- Jeyson Slade 16 Points | 7 Rebounds | 5 Steals
- Kevin Crawford 19 Points | 9-12 FT | 7 Rebounds
Saint Joseph (Me.)
- John Paul Frazier 27 Points | 8-8 FT
- Julian Llopiz 21 Points | 4 Rebounds | 4 Steals
- Remijo Wani 15 Points | 11 Rebounds
NOTEWORTHY
- The Falcons are just one of two teams that are undefeated in GNAC play.
- Albertus is now 20-9 all-time against Saint Joseph's, including four straight and 13 of the last 14 meetings.
- Washington now has nine double-doubles on the season, including two straight.
- Crawford has scored in double figures in each of his last three games.
- Slade's five steals were a season-high.
- Albertus is a perfect 3-0 in overtime this season.
- The Falcons lead the conference in points per game at 85.7 and rebounds per game at 45.7.
- There were 11 ties and 16 lead changes in the game.
UP NEXT
Albertus comes back home to The Nest to take on Johnson and Wales at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16.
