NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) tied his career-high with 32 points to lead the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team to a 90-78 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Emmanuel College (Mass.) on Saturday. The Falcons extended their winning streak to five.

Daniels also recorded a trio of steals and two assists, while Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) put up 19 points with a career-high six steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) netted 12 points to go with five rebounds and two assists.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 90 | Emmanuel College (Mass.) 78

RECORDS: Albertus (12-9, 8-2 GNAC) | Emmanuel (3-17, 2-7 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ford, Jr. opened the scoring with a jumper in the first 16 seconds of the game, but the score stayed locked at 2-0 for three minutes until Noah Beaudet netted the equalizer at 17:49.
• The Saints took the lead with a pair of free throws, followed by a layup off the hands of Cameron Snowden for the 6-3 edge with 16:07 left on the clock.
• A jump shot by Ford narrowed the gap to within one, while Crawford's fastbreak layup allowed Albertus to regain the lead, 7-6. Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) blocked Ismani Cepeda's shot as Crawford pulled down the defensive board before sprinting to the basket for the driving layup at 14:48.
• Emmanuel (Mass.) went on a 5-0 run for an 11-7 lead, but a tip-in and a pair of freebies by Crawford knotted the game again at 11 apiece. Tanksley again played aggressive defense, this time to force the steal during a one-on-one battle with Cepeda to set up the layup. Crawford grabbed back-to-back rebounds before netting the second chance points at 12:03. Before the Saints could set up their offense, Crawford forced a turnover before drawing the fouls that led to the game being tied at 11:36.
• The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes until Daniels pulled up for a three-pointer to knot the game at 19-19 at 8:28, with help from Avery Hinnant's (Naugatuck, Conn.) defensive rebound and assist.
• On the next possession, Albertus repeated the play but this time Daniels connected for two with help from Hinnant on the defensive side followed by the quick pass. The jumper pushed the hosts to a 21-19 lead that they never lost for the remainder of the game.
• Daniels drew a foul from behind the arc and padded the Falcons' lead with two made free throws at 7:38.
• Ford, Jr. and Crawford continued Albertus' hot streak with five points off a three-point jump shot and a driving layup, respectively, as the home team went up 28-19 during the 12-0 run.
• Lennox Serrano (Waterbury, Conn.) ignited a 5-2 run with a free throw and tip-in, while Crawford capped off the stretch with an explosive dunk for a 33-23 lead with 4:26 remaining.
• The Saints countered with eight unanswered points to bring the score to within three, but five straight points from Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) kept the 38-33 edge. Crawford extended the scoring stretch with two more freebies and Tahijj Hunter (Mount Laurel, N.J.) closed out the half with a layup at the buzzer after an inbounds pass from Tanksley to put the Falcons up, 42-33.
• Nine seconds into the second half, Daniels stole the ball from Emmanuel's Cameron Snowden for a fastbreak three-pointer by Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) to add to Albertus' lead, 45-33.
• Emmanuel (Mass.) rallied for another eight-point run and cut the deficit to four, but Daniels remained hot in the paint with an unassisted jumper, followed by a Crawford layup at 16:48.
• Crawford's consecutive layups sparked an eight-point scoring stretch to extend the lead to 57-43.
• Albertus continued to dominate offensively with an 11-3 run, as nine points came off the hands of Daniels.
• With 10:27 remaining in regulation, Tanksley's jumper put the Falcons up 70-52 for the largest lead of the night.
• The visitors couldn't cut the lead to within single digits for the remainder of the game and the closest margin of 10 was all the Saints could muster the rest of the way.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

49.3 FG% | 22.7 3PT% | 58.6 FT% 

Emmanuel

57.9 FG% | 53.8 3PT% | 71.1 FT%

LEADERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 32 Points | 3 Steals | 2 Assists | 4-5 FT

Kevin Crawford 19 Points | 6 Steals | 4 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 7-10 FG | 5-7 FT

Ray Ford, Jr. 12 Points | 5 Rebounds | 2 Assists

Emmanuel

Mahari Guerrier 24 Points | 5 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 2 Steals | 1 Block

Vondre Chase 19 Points | 8 Rebounds | 4 Assists | 4-5 FG | 11-13 FT 

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the third time in his career Daniels has recorded a 30+ point game, with all three games this season. The junior currently has 840 career points.
• Ford, Jr. has scored in double digits in nine of his last 10 games.

UP NEXT

The Falcons remain in The Nest to host in-state conference rival University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) on Saturday at 3 p.m.