Men's Basketball Dominant In GNAC Quarterfinal Over Monks

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The top-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team steamrolled the ninth-seeded Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJC), 95-45, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals inside the O'Connell Center Wednesday night.

With the victory, USJ, which is nationally-ranked No. 12, improves to 24-1 overall on the season, and will host fourth-seeded Anna Maria College in the GNAC Semifinals, played inside the O'Connell Center on Friday night, February 25, at 7:00 p.m. The game will be a rematch of the semifinal game between these two teams from the 2019-20 GNAC Tournament. The Blue Jays prevailed in that one, 94-79. For a look around the GNAC Tournament, please see below:

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 23
#9 Saint Joseph's Maine 45, #1 Saint Joseph CT 95
#5 Emmanuel 55, #4 Anna Maria 62
#6 Norwich 57, #3 Lasell 69
#7 Regis 89, #2 Albertus Magnus 99

Semifinals - Friday, February 25
#4 Anna Maria at #1 Saint Joseph CT – 7PM
#3 Lasell at #2 Albertus Magnus – 7PM

Championship - Sunday, February 27
Final at highest remaining seed

GAME INFORMATION
Score: #9 Saint Joseph's (Me.) 45, #1 Saint Joseph (Conn.) 95
Records: SJC (9-18), USJ (24-1)
Location: O'Connell Athletic Center | West Hartford, Conn.
Notes: GNAC Quarterfinals

PLAYER QUOTE [Ryan O'Neill]
"[SJC] was playing that 3-2 zone, so I knew that corner three was going to be the open spot. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball. I made as many as I could. It gives us another element to our game to make shots like that. The three isn't always our focus, but it does open up the drive for our other guys. [SJC] can play. The first time we played them up in Maine, they sort of gave us the same treatment, so we definitely needed to be ready to play today."

COACH QUOTE [Glen Miller]
"It was an outstanding performance on the defensive end, probably our best of the season. I thought we were well prepared, and the guys played extremely hard, we were connected defensively, and we were determined. It all started on the defensive end with our full-court pressure, and we carried that over into the half court."

The Blue Jays have won four straight GNAC Tournament games dating back to 2019-20, and are 6-2 in program history in postseason play (0-1 in NCAA Tournament).

Senior guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) was the high-man on the night with a playoff career-high 18 points. The Litchfield native tied a Blue Jays' playoff record with six made three-pointers (6-7 3FG). A pair of Blue Jays added 14 points a piece, including senior guard Chaylyn Martin (Hartford, Conn.), and senior forward Jordan Powell (Middletown, Conn.). 11 players scored in total for the hosts.

The Monks meanwhile struggled from the get-go. Nothing came easy Wednesday night for SJC behind the relentless perimeter pressure by the Blue Jays. Senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) and senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) entered the night the top scoring duo in the GNAC (37.5 PPG). Both were in the top five in scoring. They were held to a combined 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting (3-10 3FG), and both set season-lows in scoring on the night as a deep rotation of USJ guards harassed them from start to finish. Junior forward Drew Shea (Mount Dessert Island, Maine) was a bright spot for the Monks, scoring a team-high 11 points and hauled in six rebounds. The Monks though were held to just 45 points, the fewest USJ has allowed in a game all season.

USJ scored the first 16 points of the game, forcing seven early turnovers and opening the game up right away. Time and time again, Saint Joseph picked apart the Saint Joseph's 3-2 zone either with a perimeter three, or a pass to the foul line. USJ remained patient and wound up shooting better than 53% as a team from the field on the night. The hosts led 48-17 at the break, and would never look back.

USJ is 4-1 all-time against the Monks, including 2-0 in the playoffs. USJ has won the last four consecutive meetings, two of them by 40+ points.

UP NEXT
The top-seeded Blue Jays advance to the GNAC Semifinals for third straight season. They will once again host the AMCATS of Anna Maria College in the GNAC Semifinals on Friday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. inside the O'Connell Center. Saint Joseph defeated Anna Maria in the 2020 GNAC Semifinals, 94-79. Tickets can be purchased here starting on Thursday morning, or fans can catch the action live on www.usjbluejays.com. 

Follow USJ Athletics
For the latest on University of Saint Joseph athletics, follow the Blue Jays on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Fans can also download the USJ Front Row Mobile App and subscribe to our Newsletter and Text Alerts. #FearTheFlock #GoBlueJays