STANDISH, ME - Saint Joseph's College improved to 3-0 with a 73-61 victory over University of Southern Maine at the Harold Alfond Center on Sunday night. Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) tallied a career-high 24 points and added 8 caroms and 4 assists for the Monks, who retain possession of the Costello Cup, which is given annually to the winner of the in-state rivalry, with the triumph. USM falls to 1-4 with the loss.

Cortez Isaac '11 (Washington, D.C.) scored a game-high 35 points and grabbed 9 boards for the Huskies, but it wasn't enough as the Monks led by as much as 20 points early in the second half and hung on for the victory against a Southern Maine team that wouldn't surrender easily.

Four SJC players reached double-digits, as Tyler Kelley '11 (Saco, ME) registered 15 points and Alberto Rue '10 (Jamaica Plain, MA) and Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) both scored 11 points to join O'Brien. Monks' guard Rashon Jones '11 (Bridgeport, CT) added a career-high 10 caroms to lead all players on the glass.

The game was close for the better part of the first half, as the Monks didn't attain a 10-point lead until Rue nailed a three-pointer with 6:15 left in the opening period to put the hosts up 25-15.

An Isaac three cut the SJC lead to 30-24 three minutes later, but the Monks closed out the half with a 7-2 run, capped by an O'Brien layup, to take a 37-26 advantage into the break.

St. Joe's kicked off the second stanza with a 10-1 run and led 47-27 after a long-ball from Kelley at the 16:47 mark. The Huskies responded in kind with a 12-0 surge, with the help of 8 points from Isaac, to cut the SJC lead to 47-39 with 14:12 left.

The Huskies remained in the game for the duration, but were unable to cut the lead down to a two-possession scenario. A pair of Petzy free throws put the Monks up by 15, 72-57, and the game out of reach for the Huskies, with 1:10 remaining.

John Sewall '11 (Bath, ME/Cheverus) added 13 points and 7 boards for the Huskies in the losing effort. For the Monks, Spenser Adams '12 (North Yarmouth, ME/Greely) made his collegiate debut in the victory.

St. Joe's shot 45.6% (26-57) from the field, 31.6% (6-19) from beyond the arc, and 57.7% (15-26) from the charity stripe in the victory.

Southern Maine shot 31.3% (21-67) overall, 25.0% (5-20) from three-point range, and 58.3% (14-24) from the line in the loss.

St. Joe's will host Husson on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM while Southern Maine is set to host Bowdoin on Tuesday at 7:30 PM.

NOTES: With the win, Saint Joseph's owns a 12-8 record in the Costello Cup series...the 3-0 start is the first of Head Coach Rob Sanicola's seven-year career and 13^th in program history...the Monks have won 10 straight at the Alfond Center, with the last loss coming at the hands of Rivier College on January 10^th, 2009.

Newspaper Box Score
Southern Me. vs St. Joseph's (Me.)
11/29/09 7:30 PM at Alfond Center, Standish, Maine
At Alfond Center, Standish, Maine
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 73, SOUTHERN ME. 61
SOUTHERN ME. (1-4)
Cortez Isaac 11-23 10-14 35; John Sewall 5-20 3-6 13; Otis Smith 2-9 0-0 5;
Kione Morgan 1-5 0-0 3; Leif O'Connell 1-3 1-4 3; Troy Jellison 1-4 0-0 2;
Jordan Hebert 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Foustoukos 0-2 0-0 0; Nick Peirce 0-0 0-0 0;
Doug Wilcox 0-0 0-0 0; Billy Zolper 0-1 0-0 0; Luke Pollock 0-0 0-0 0;
Tucker LaClair 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-67 14-24 61.
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (3-0)
Zach O'Brien 9-14 5-8 24; Tyler Kelley 6-15 0-0 15; Alberto Rue 2-7 6-8 11;
Christopher Petzy 4-7 2-2 11; Raymond Eatmon 3-6 0-2 6; Rashon Jones 1-2 1-2
3; Anthony Savino 1-3 0-2 2; Julio Vazquez 0-2 1-2 1; Thomas Ray 0-1 0-0 0;
Spenser Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 15-26 73.
Southern Me...................   26   35  -   61
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   37   36  -   73
3-point goals--Southern Me. 5-20 (Cortez Isaac 3-8; Otis Smith 1-3; Kione
Morgan 1-3; Mike Foustoukos 0-1; Billy Zolper 0-1; John Sewall 0-4), St.
Joseph's (Me.) 6-19 (Tyler Kelley 3-9; Christopher Petzy 1-2; Alberto Rue
1-4; Zach O'Brien 1-2; Julio Vazquez 0-1; Rashon Jones 0-1). Fouled
out--Southern Me.-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. Rebounds--Southern Me. 34
(Cortez Isaac 9), St. Joseph's (Me.) 50 (Rashon Jones 10). Assists--Southern
Me. 8 (Cortez Isaac 3), St. Joseph's (Me.) 12 (Zach O'Brien 4). Total
fouls--Southern Me. 20, St. Joseph's (Me.) 19. Technical fouls--Southern
Me.-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-300
Monks win Costello Cup