Stifling Defense Powers Men's Hoops Past NEC, 74-43, Tuesday Night

HENNIKER, N.H. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team used stellar defense to take down New England College (NEC), 74-43, on the road during Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Tuesday night inside Bridges Gym in Henniker, N.H. Senior guard Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) paced USJ's offense with 20 points. With the result, the Blue Jays moved to 8-5 on the season and 2-0 in GNAC play, while the Pilgrims dropped to 2-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USJ jumped out to a 9-4 edge after Cummings knocked down a triple at the 15:42 mark of the first half.
• Cummings drained his second three-pointer of the game moments later, as the Blue Jays held a 12-4 lead and NEC called a timeout with 13:34 on the first-half clock.
• The Blue Jays continued to roll, utilizing an 8-2 scoring stretch, fueled by five points from Cummings and a triple by junior forward Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany), to increase the gap to 20-6 at the 9:20 mark.
• NEC closed the deficit back to single digits, 20-11, but a junior wing Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.) triple extended the lead out to 12, 23-11, with 5:17 left in the half.
• The Pilgrims closed the deficit back to six, 23-17, but an 8-0 USJ run, capped off by a thunderous dunk by Cummings, extended the advantage to 14, 31-17, and forced an NEC timeout at the 1:26 mark.
• Cummings continued to have an incredible half, throwing down his second dunk of the night in the closing seconds to send the Blue Jays into the break with a 34-17 lead.
• The two teams traded buckets to open the second half, as Feldrappe sunk a three-pointer to increase the USJ lead to 42-21 with 14:49 left to play.
• The Blue Jays continued to control the game, as freshman guard Jakari Tertulien (Bridgeport, Conn.), Altenor and sophomore wing Jalen Holmes (Cherry Hill, N.J.) all found the bottom of the net, extending the gap to 50-24, as NEC called another timeout with 12:22 remaining.
• USJ remained the dominate side, using a 20-8 scoring stretch, featuring eight points from Holmes, to increase the lead to 68-32 with 5:43 left in the game.
• NEC would not be able to mount a comeback as USJ secured a 31-point victory, 74-43.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Cummings paced the team with a game-high 20 points off 7-of-12 shooting, including a 4-of-9 clip from beyond the arc.
• Feldrappe and Altenor joined him in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
• Freshman forward Adelphe Cisse (Pointe-Noire, Congo) hauled in a team-high eight rebounds.
• Altenor dished out a team-best six assists.
• Holmes scored a career-high eight points.
• USJ held NEC to a 27.7 percent field goal percentage (13-of-47).
• The Blue Jays dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Pilgrims 47-26.
• USJ dominated inside the paint, outscoring NEC 36-8 from close-range.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return to West Hartford on Saturday, January 11, welcoming Norwich University for a GNAC matchup. Tipoff against the Cadets inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn., is set for 1:00 p.m.

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