STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-17, 7-10 GNAC) held off Lasell University (14-10, 11-7 GNAC), 78-61, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

Saint Joseph's has earned the #9 seed in the GNAC Tournament and will play at #8 Johnson & Wales in a first-round matchup on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

Lasell has clinched the #3 seed and will host the winner of the #11 Rivier / #6 Norwich first-round victor on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's held the lead for the entire contest and employed a 24-3 run spanning eight minutes to claim a game-high 24-point lead (40-16) with 2:14 left in the first half.

Holding a 42-22 advantage at halftime, the Monks maintained a 20-point lead until the Lasers posted an 18-5 run to cut their deficit to nine points (59-50) with 8:41 remaining. St. Joe's responded with a 15-7 scoring burst, which was capped with an Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) layup and the Monks on top, 74-57, with 2:22 on the clock.

The Monks managed to hold the Lasers to just one field goal while going 4-for-4 from the FT line in the closing minutes to clinch the conference victory.

SENIOR MOMENT:

Prior to the game, Saint Joseph's held a brief ceremony to honor the program's four seniors and their families. Seniors Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine), Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine), David Keohan (West Newfield, Maine), and Cole Marzinzik (Hampton, N.H.) are all four-year members of the SJC men's basketball program and have helped the Monks advance to the GNAC Tournament in each of the last three full seasons.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's held a 35-6 lead in bench points and shot 43.3% (29-67) from the field on the afternoon…Lasell posted a 30% (21-70) shooting performance overall.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior forward Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and dealt five assists in the triumph
• Curtis tallied 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists
• Keohan also notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 caroms
• Foley netted 12 points with three assists and a pair of rebounds
• Abbott came off the bench to register 12 points and seven boards

LEADERS – LASELL:

• Graduate Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored 15 points with a game-high 16 rebounds with eight caroms on each end of the court
• Senior guard EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) tallied 15 points, four assists, three steals, and two rebounds
• Graduate Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) produced a double-double with 12 points and 14 boards
• Senior guard Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) added 13 points and three rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 15-14 all-time versus Lasell University and has now defeated the Lasers in back to back meetings for the first time since 2013.

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