STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (9-9, 5-2 GNAC) toppled New England College (4-14, 1-6 GNAC), 85-55, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's led for the entire game and opened up a 19-9 lead on the heels of a 10-3 run spanning five minutes early in the first quarter. Later in the first frame the Monks hit four three-pointers – including three from sophomore Ben Seiler (Enfield, N.H.) – during a four-minute window to secure a 33-16 advantage with 6:38 before the break.

St. Joe's held a 47-28 lead after shooting 54.8% (17-31) from the field in the first half and built a game-high 32-point cushion (82-50) when sophomore Seth Huntington (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) made a pair of freebies with 4:53 left to play.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's shot 47.6% (30-63) from the floor and 46.9% (15-32) from three-point range while New England College made 27.9% (19-68) and 31.0% (9-29) from the field and downtown, respectively…The Monks also held the lead in points in the paint (28-12) and bench points (50-25) in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Seiler scored a game and career-high 16 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting in 14 minutes off the bench
• Grad student Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) added 11 points with four assists, three rebounds, and two blocks
• Junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) contributed nine points, three rebounds, three steals, and a pair of assists
• Senior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) tallied nine points, four assists, two caroms, and two steals
• Freshman Kolbyn Dunphe (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in with five points and eight rebounds
• Sophomore Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) netted seven points with six boards, four assists, and two steals
• Freshman Pitia Donato (Portland, Maine) added six points, six caroms, and two assists

LEADERS – NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE:

• Sophomore Junior Efosa (Haverhill, Mass.) paced the Pilgrims with 11 points off the bench
• Sophomore Michael Hills (Baton Rouge, La.) scored nine points with three steals
• Senior Kyle Inglis (Burlington, Mass.) tallied eight points, five assists, and three boards
• Junior Alex Williams (Miramar, Fla.) chipped in with eight points and four rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 18-1 in the history of the series with New England College and has now defeated the Pilgrims in 18-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Anna Maria College on Saturday at 2:00 PM.

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