HENNIKER, N.H. - Five players scored in double figures as the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 95-65 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win over New England College in the team's regular season finale.

Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) led all Falcons with 16 points wo go with five assists. Deivone Tanksley (Hartford, Conn.) and Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) each scored 15 points, while Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 14 with four rebounds and three assists. 

Tahijj Hunter (Mount Laurel, N.J.) went 5-for-7 off the bench for 10 points and Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with seven points.

With the win, the Falcons clinched the fourth seed in the upcoming GNAC tournament. They will host the No. 5 seed Norwich University on Tuesday, February 25th at 7:30 p.m.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 95 | New England College 65

RECORDS: Albertus (15-10, 11-3 GNAC) | NEC (4-21, 2-12 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus scored the first five points of the game as Tanksley opened up with a three-point play after making a layup while getting fouled. Hinnant followed with a layup of his own to put Albertus up 5-0. Tanksley scored four more points shortly after, putting the Falcons up 13-6 less than three minutes into the game.
• After NEC trimmed the Albertus lead to 13-11 after a three-point play by Nick Gomeau, the Falcons went on a 14-4 run to take their first double-digit lead of the game at 27-15 with 8:54 on the clock. Kirkland fueled the run with two threes while Tanksley hit one of his own. 
• Ford, Jr. hit a three later on in the half and Kirkland followed two possessions later with a steal and layup to give Albertus a 34-21 lead with 6:21 left.
• NEC trimmed the Albertus lead back to single digits at 34-25 thanks in large part to a three from Theisen Lee, but Ford, Jr. hit two threes on two consecutive Albertus possessions to make it a 40-27 game. The Falcons led 44-30 at halftime.
• Tanksley kicked off the second half the same way he did in the first with a layup to start the scoring, while Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) made a layup on an assist from Tanksley on the next Albertus possession as the Falcons took a 48-32 lead.
• Albertus took a 58-41 lead at the 15:30 mark after a layup from Daniels, but the Pilgrims scored the next seven, which included a three from Nick Gomeau which chipped the Albertus lead down to 58-48. Albertus quickly scored the next six points, the final two on a fastbreak dunk from Hinnant on a pass from Daniels off of a rebound to go back up 64-48 with 12:20 left.
• NEC would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way, as Albertus increased its lead to as much as 32 points in the second half. 
• Daniels scored 14 of his points in the second half. Twelve different players scored in the second half for Albertus.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

47.9 FG% | 36.4 3PT% | 68.0 FT%

NEC

36.4 FG% | 16.7 3PT% | 81.5 FT%

LEADERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 16 Points | 4 Rebounds | 5 Assists

Deivone Tanksley 15 Points | 6-7 FG | 5 Rebounds

Jayquan Kirkland 15 Points | 5-10 FG

Ray Ford, Jr. 14 Points | 4 Rebounds | 3 Assists

Tahijj Hunter 10 Points | 5-7 FG | 5 Rebounds

Avery Hinnant 7 Points | 13 Rebounds

NEC

Alex Williams 16 Points | 5-9 FG | 5 Rebounds

Theisen Lee 12 Points | 3 Rebounds | 3 Assists

Nick Gomeau 10 Points | 3 Assists | 2 Steals

NOTEWORTHY

Albertus outscored NEC, 46-30 in the paint.

The Falcons' bench dominated NEC's bench, outscoring them 39-15.

Albertus finished with 50 rebounds and have had at least 50 rebounds in each of the last two games.