Big First Half Propels Blue Jays To Holiday Tourney Final

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team handled the Fisher College Falcons (FC), 91-56 in the O'Connell Center Saturday afternoon, to make it seven straight wins, and in doing so, advanced to the USJ Holiday Tournament Championship game.

Sophomore guard Delshawn Jackson Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) led all scorers with 19 points. He also had four rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Jordan Powell (Middletown, Conn.) played big once again, netting 13 on 6-of-7 from the field. He also had a game-high seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) and freshman forward Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.) were extremely active defensively, allowing the Blue Jays to get out and run. Senior forward Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, Calif.) led the way for Fisher with 17. 

Saint Joseph took a 14-4 lead just six minutes in and never looked back, taking a 51-15 lead into the half.

Saturday's doubleheader was the start of the inaugural USJ Holiday Tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast. The tournament field includes USJ, Fisher, Pine Manor College, and SUNY College at Old Westbury. The winners of each semifinal game play in the championship on Sunday, December 29 at 3:30 p.m. The losers play in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m. All four games are streaming live on usjbluejays.com.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 91, Fisher 56
Records: USJ (8-2), Fisher (5-6)
Location: O'Connell Athletic Center | West Hartford, Conn.

COACH QUOTE [Jim Calhoun]
"We really put a lot of emphasis on getting off to a good start today, and we got into their stuff pretty good. They made threes in the second half, but in the first half, they couldn't because we were into them. Defensively, whichever team we play tomorrow, we've got a chance to win our eighth in a row, and protect our home court."

KEY MOMENTS

• Powell had three layups in the first five minutes to give the Blue Jays a 12-4 lead.
• USJ came out of the timeout and went on a 25-4 run to break it open, 37-8 with 7:09 left in the first half.
• Down 51-15 at the break, the Falcons came out determined to trim down the lead. Junior guard Jason Augliera (Discovery Bay, Calif.) exploded, scoring all 17 of his points in the second half, including 3-of-6 from downtown. The lead was as low as 26, but the Falcons could get no closer.

NUMBER TO KNOW

228 - The Blue Jays have scored 228 more points in the paint this season than their opponents, for an average of 22.8 per game. They outscored Fisher Saturday, 50-24.

NOTES

• The Falcons are 1-5 when allowing at least 70 points.
• USJ held FC to just 34% shooting (18-53 FG). The Blue Jays are fourth in the nation in opponent field goal percentage at just under 36%.
• The Blue Jays scored 33 points off 26 Falcon turnovers.
• Saint Joseph is now 1-0 all-time against Fisher.

UP NEXT
Men's basketball will play in the USJ Holiday Tournament Championship against either Pine Manor or SUNY Old Westbury on Sunday, December 29 at 3:30 p.m. in the O'Connell Center.

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