No. 7 Men's Basketball Flies Past Falcons, 80-51

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The highly anticipated rivalry has completed its latest chapter, as the nationally-ranked No. 7 University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team handled intrastate foe Albertus Magnus College (AMC), 80-51, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home game inside the O'Connell Center Saturday afternoon. The victory is the 20th straight dating back to last season, and the 18th straight to start 2021-22 for USJ.

The Blue Jays win streak is tied for the second-longest active streak in all of men's 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 27 straight, behind Yeshiva who has 33 straight. During the streak, USJ has also won its last 19 games by double digits.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Albertus Magnus 51, Saint Joseph 80
Records: AMC 11-5 (9-2 GNAC), USJ 18-0 (13-0 GNAC)
Location: O'Connell Center | West Hartford, Conn.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A physical battle ensued, as is expected between the teams. Both squads got to the foul line early and often. After a 6-6 tie in the early going, the Blue Jays racked off seven in a row to take a 13-6 lead, led by O'Neill, who made four straight shots and scored seven straight at one point in the first half.

Albertus kept fighting, pulling within three, 20-17 with 7:38 remaining in half number one. Senior forward Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) anchored the charge for the visitors with his resilient effort inside and from mid-range.

The Blue Jays quickly answered with a 15-0 run to blow the game open, taking a double-digit lead, and never looking back. USJ had a variety of contributors in the second half as the lead ballooned to over 25 points. Saint Joseph had 50 points in the paint, to just 18 for Albertus Magnus.

PLAYER QUOTE [Ryan O'Neill]
"We definitely came ready to play today. Whenever we play Albertus, we have that marked down on the calendar. Everyone came out with energy and was ready to go. I have as much confidence as I have always had. My teammates believe in me, my coaches believe in me, and I have been putting in a lot of work. I could not do it though without my team."

COACH QUOTE [Glen Miller]
"Our guys were very focused in practice the last two days preparing for this game. We played with tremendous energy at both ends of the floor, and it was as close to a complete game as we have played this season. We are a difficult team to beat when we defend and rebound like we did today."

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Senior guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) led the way for USJ with 19 points (7-12 FG) along with five rebounds, and four assists. Senior guard Tyree Mitchell (East Hartford, Conn.) added 16 and five off the bench, while senior guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) got the momentum going in the first half for USJ, finishing with 17 points and five boards. The 51 points is the fewest scored by either team in the series history all-time.

USJ is now 3-2 all-time vs AMC, having won the last three meetings. The Blue Jays also hold the only two double digit wins in the series (won by 19 in 2019-20 and 29 Saturday). USJ has already set a new program record for most GNAC wins in a season (went 11-0 in 2019-20).

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays carry on with the toughest stretch of the season. Four of the final six games will be on the road, including a rematch with intrastate foe and fellow GNAC rival Albertus Magnus College. USJ will head down to New Haven against Albertus will on Monday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m., part of a doubleheader once again with women's basketball. Please review the most recent updates to spectator policy at Albertus Magnus. You can also head over to usjbluejays.com to catch the action live!

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