Men's Basketball Pulls Away Late, Defeats Dean Tuesday, 89-73

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The nationally-ranked No.7 University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team has made it 19 straight wins dating back to last season, pulling away in the second half from the Bulldogs of Dean College (DEAN), 89-73, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home game inside the O'Connell Center Tuesday night.

The Blue Jays win streak is tied for the second-longest active streak in all of college basketball (Div I-III). USJ is one of only three remaining undefeated teams in the nation (two in D-II), and owns the second longest conference win streak in Division III at 26 straight, behind Yeshiva who has 33 straight.

During the streak, USJ has also won its last 18 games by double digits. Senior guard Chaylyn Martin (Hartford, Conn.) was the standout performer with a career-best 26 points (8-11 FG, 8-11 FG), along with seven rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocked shots.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Dean 73, Saint Joseph 89
Records: DEAN 5-12 (0-10 GNAC), USJ 17-0 (12-0 GNAC)
Location: O'Connell Center | West Hartford, Conn.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 10 minutes of action was played tight, as each team was efficient on the offensive end. USJ took its biggest lead of the half much later on, 43-32, after a layup from the senior point guard and captain, Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.), who put it home with two minutes to play. Dean finished the frame with an 8-0 spurt though, with five points from senior guard Nick Sampeck (Blanco, Texas), to trail by only three at the break.

The brothers Martin combined for 29 second-half points to keep the scoring consistent for the Blue Jays, while also picking up the pace on the defensive end. It didn't come right away though, as senior guard Winston Bryan (Greensboro, N.C.) made a big three on the Bulldogs first possession of the second to tie the game. At 12:53, Dean went in front, 53-51, on a pair of free throws from junior forward Hunter Meyer (Taylor Mill, Ky.). Less than two minutes later, Sampeck put the Bulldogs in front 57-53 with a layup. USJ, trailing at the midway point of the second half with its undefated streak on the line, responded with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes, and would not relinquish the lead en route to the 89-73 victory.

COACH QUOTE [Glen Miller] "Dean played a good offensive game and tested our defense for 40 minutes. We defended better in the second half, which allowed us to score in transition. Chaylyn Martin had his best game of the season and was terrific on both ends of the floor. As a team, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and executing the offense after building a lead. We will often put together careless turnovers, allowing teams to get back in the game."

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Blue Jays had three players with 20+ points, led by Chaylyn Martin's career-best 26. Jaecee Martin came away with 22 himself, while senior forward Jordan Powell (Middletown, Conn.) went 10-14 from the floor to finish with 20 points. He remains in the top five in the NCAA in field goal percentage. Junior forward Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.) led the hosts with 10 rebounds off the bench.

For the visitors, Sampeck led the Bulldogs with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench. Meyer was the other Bulldog to reach double figures with 12 points. Junior forward Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) just missed a double-double with nine points and a team best 10 rebounds.

Both teams shot the ball well with USJ posting a 51.6% mark, while Dean shot 45.3%. The Blue Jays were 19-for-30 from the free throw line and Dean made 10-of-15 from the charity stripe, a critical nine-point edge for USJ. Dean did most of its damage off the bench with a sizeable 34-11 advantage.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays now prepare for what will be the toughest stretch of the season. Four of the final seven games will be on the road, but not before the highly anticipated rematch with intrastate foe and fellow GNAC rival Albertus Magnus College. USJ will host the Falcons on Saturday, February 5 at 3:00 p.m., part of a doubleheader with the women's teams. A road contest down in New Haven against Albertus will follow on Monday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m., also part of a men's and women's doubleheader. Please review the University's latest spectator policy. You can also head over to usjbluejays.com to catch the action live!

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