O'Neill Nets 1,000th Career Point, Men's Hoops Downs Babson

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Behind 17 second-half points, including the 1,000th career point by graduate student guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.), the No. 13 University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team downed the visiting Babson College Beavers, 77-56, in a non-conference contest inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium Monday night. The Blue Jays and Beavers were deadlocked at 32-all at the half, but Saint Joseph surged in the second stanza to pull away from the visitors and secured its second-straight win to start the 2022-23 season.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: #13 USJ 77, Babson 56
Records: #13 USJ (2-0), Babson (2-1) 
Location: James A. Calhoun Gymnasium (West Hartford, Conn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Jays raced out to a quick 6-0 lead to start the contest following a trio of layups from senior forward Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.), O'Neill, and graduate student Alec Kinder (West Haven, Conn.). USJ continued to apply its tenacious, high-pressure defense, which was featured in its season-opening game versus Yeshiva last Wednesday night, and kept Babson off the scoreboard for the opening 4:20 before the Beavers finally broke through with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) to get their first points. Saint Joseph used a quick 4-0 spurt to build what would be its largest lead of the first half, 10-3, with 14:36 left to play in the opening period.

Babson utilized the three-ball over the ensuing nine-plus minutes to turn the game in its favor. A 7-0 run by the Beavers tied the game at 10-10 before they took their first lead of the contest, 13-12, following a three-pointer from sophomore forward Parker Mason (Portsmouth, R.I.) with 10:31 to play in the first half. Both teams traded baskets until another 7-0 Babson spurt gave the visitors their largest lead of the contest, 25-19, with just over five minutes to play before halftime.

Kinder, who was a big-time spark off the bench for the Blue Jays in this one, stopped the Beavers' run with a hook shot in the lane with 4:56 to play before the break. Babson maintained a slight lead for the next couple of minutes, but USJ ended the half strong with an 8-2 burst over the final 2:31 of the period to level the score at 32-all entering the intermission. Senior guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) knocked down a tough turnaround jumper in the final seconds to send both teams into the locker rooms deadlocked.

Babson came out of the break and picked up right where it left off shooting the three-ball. Three of its first four field-goals to start the second stanza came from beyond the arc, including a pair from Amado. The third triple was scored by Mason and built a 43-37 gap for the visitors with 17:39 left to play in regulation. The Blue Jays quickly erased the deficit though and used an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 45-43, capped off by an O'Neill three with just over 16 minutes left. USJ would never trail for the remainder of the contest.

The Beavers tied things up at 52-all after another Mason three-pointer with 12:11 left, but that would mark the final made field-goal of the contest for Babson as USJ's defense locked in and limited the visitors to just four points (all free throws) for the remainder of the affair. Senior guard Delshawn Jackson Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) knocked down a corner three with 8:52 to play, which erupted the crowd, put the Blue Jays up 61-53, and forced a Babson timeout. Then, just over a minute later, O'Neill drove down the right side of the lane and made a floating jump shot to log his 16th point of the game and 1,000th point of his career in a USJ uniform. O'Neill becomes the second player in program history to achieve the career milestone.

With all of the momentum on their side, the Blue Jays built their first double-digit lead, 66-55, following a layup by graduate student forward Jake Sullivan (Branford, Conn.) with just over seven minutes left in regulation. Saint Joseph led by double figures the rest of the way as they closed the game on a 25-4 run over the final 12:11 to claim the 77-56 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• For the second game in a row to start the season, O'Neill led a quartet of USJ scorers in double figures, finishing with a game-high 23 points.
• O'Neill netted his game-high 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-8 from distance. He also chipped in on the glass and grabbed six boards.
• Amado logged a double-double to lead the way for Babson, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Samuels, Martin and Jackson Jr. were the other Blue Jays in double figures on the night. Samuels and Martin each finished with 13 points, while Jackson Jr. added 10 off the bench.
• Kinder logged one of his best career games and was all over the floor for USJ. He finished with eight points and grabbed a game-high 11 caroms in 25 minutes off the bench.
• USJ held a slight edge on the glass, outrebounding Babson, 37-35.
• The Blue Jays forced 19 Babson turnovers and turned those miscues into 16 USJ points.
• Saint Joseph held a significant advantage in paint points, 40-14.
• The Blue Jays outshot the Beavers from the field, 52.6 percent to 32.2 percent, and from beyond the arc, 42.9 percent to 35.7 percent.

NOTES

• With the victory, the Blue Jays have now won their last 19-straight home games. That mark is the fifth longest streak in the nation.
• USJ is now 4-0 all-time versus Babson.
• Tonight's 21-point margin of victory is the largest in the series history.

UP NEXT

Men's basketball returns back to the hardwood on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 at the inaugural Small College Basketball Champions Classic in Aberdeen, S.D. The event, which will take place in Wachs Arena, within the confines of The Barnett Center, and is hosted by Division II's Northern State University, features 12 selected teams from across the nation with four from Division II, Division III, and NAIA, respectively. The No. 13 Blue Jays open the weekend on Friday against No. 3 Wisconsin-Oshkosh before playing No. 21 Illinois Wesleyan. Both games tipoff at 1:00 p.m. EST. Fans traveling to the event or looking to follow the action can find more information by clicking here.