STANDISH, Maine – Emmanuel College (12-4, 8-0 GNAC) outlasted Saint Joseph's College (7-8, 3-4 GNAC), 83-78, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest that featured 21 lead changes and seven tie scores at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The GNAC battle was a two-possession game for most of the night as the only double-digit advantage of the contest was attained by the Monks when freshman forward Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) hit a jumper to lift the hosts to an 18-8 cushion at the 13:38 mark of the first half.

The Saints answered in kind with a 18-7 surge spanning the following six minutes to claim their first lead of the night, 26-25, when Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) made a free throw with 7:38 left in the half. The  lead changed hands 10 times leading up to intermission with Emmanuel clinging to a 38-37 edge at the break.

The conference counterparts essentially traded blows for the first 10 minutes of the second stanza before Emmanuel stopped the trend with layups on consecutive possessions to claim a 62-58 advantage with 9:16 on the clock. The Saints clinched their largest lead – seven points – when junior guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) converted a layup with 5:46 remaining.

The Monks fought back to make it a one-point game (73-72) after graduate guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) hit a pair of freebies with 1:58 left, but the hosts could not get over the hump as the Saints hit a pair of clutch three-pointers and went 4-for-4 from the FT line in the final 90 seconds.

STATS OF GAME:

Emmanuel enjoyed greater success up close with advantages in second chance points (15-4) and points in the paint (44-32) while also recording leads in fast break points (15-4) and bench points (30-19) in the winning effort.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) netted 18 points with five rebounds and three assists
• Graduate guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) also scored 18 points with four assists and three caroms
• Foley contributed with 15 points, three assists, and two boards
• Sophomore guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to score nine points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting
• Donato also provided a spark off the bench with eight points and seven rebounds

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

• Pope led all players with 28 points on 13-for-21 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds
• Baines tallied 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two assists
• Junior guard Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) chipped in with 12 points and six boards
• Junior guard Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.) added 11 points, four assists, and three steals

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the result, Saint Joseph's falls to 21-9 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College. The Monks split a pair of contests with the Saints last winter, winning 75-73 at home and falling by an 87-77 score in Boston.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Johnson & Wales University in a GNAC matchup at 3:00 PM on Saturday.

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