Second-Stanza Rally Propels Monks Past Rams
Basketball - Saint Joseph's College Men's
By Corey McCarthy
BOSTON, MA – Ray
Eatmon ’10 (Huntington, NY) scored a game-high 25
points and grabbed 13 boards to lead Saint Joseph’s
(15-5, 10-3 GNAC) to a 75-66 conference victory over
Suffolk University (5-15, 1-2 GNAC) on Thursday
evening.
Zach O’Brien ’12
(Schenectady, NY) added 17 points, 9 assists and 7
caroms and Alberto Rue ’10 (Jamaica Plain, MA)
contributed 15 points for the Royal Blue. Chris
Petzy ’12 (Kensington, NH) notched his first career
double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the
Monks’ victory.
Rams’ freshman guard
Mickey McEntee (South Kingstown, RI) paced the hosts
with 17 points, while Matt Pepdjonovic ’13 (Quincy,
MA) netted 14 with a game-best 18 rebounds and Sam
Hutchins ’12 (Andover, MA) chipped in with 10 points
and 5 dimes in the losing effort.
For the second time
this week, St. Joe’s rallied to erase a halftime
deficit en route to a GNAC win. The Monks, who
trailed 38-32 at the break, were able to overcome
the difference with a 58.1% (18-31) second-half
shooting effort and a run early in the latter
stanza.
The Monks held at
least a share of the lead for the first 9:30 of
play, as Suffolk gained its first advantage when
Nolan DiPanfilo drained a three-pointer with 10:30
left in the first half. Back-to-back buckets by
Tommy Ray ’12 (Cape Elizabeth, ME) and Rue put St.
Joe’s back on top and a Petzy basket with 6:14
before the break put the Royal Blue up 27-23. With
the help of a trio of treys, two from McEntee, the
Rams managed to outscore the Monks, 15-5, over the
final minutes of the half and carried a 38-32 lead
into intermission.
McEntee led all
scorers with 11 points in the first half, while
Eatmon netted 10 and Petzy poured in 8 for the Monks
in the opening period.
Suffolk held a 43-36
cushion three minutes into the second stanza, but
three consecutive baskets and a freebie from Eatmon
kick started a 14-0 blanking for the Monks, who led
50-43 after O’Brien drained a jumper at the 14:11
mark.
The feisty Rams
refused to go away, however, and regained the lead
with a 17-5 surge that spanned the subsequent seven
minutes of play. Colin Halpin closed out the hosts’
run with a jumper with 7:12 remaining to give his
team a 60-58 lead.
The Monks put together
another shutout string, this time a 10-0 blanking,
over the following three minutes to regain the lead
for good. O’Brien netted five of the points and Rue
hit a mid-range jumpshot with 4:33 left to put Saint
Joseph’s ahead, 68-62.
The Rams maintained a
two-possession deficit for much of the remainder of
play, but a 5-6 effort from the charity stripe
helped keep the hosts at bay as St. Joe’s headed
north with a 75-66 victory in tow.
St. Joe’s shot 48.5%
(32-66) overall, 20% (2-10) from beyond the arc, and
64.3% (9-14) from the line, while Suffolk shot 41.8%
(28-67) from the field, 45% (9-20) from three-point
distance and 100% (1-1) from the line. The Monks
held a 46-31 advantage on the boards and collected
17 offensive caroms, which ties a season-best, in
the win.
Saint Joseph’s
committed a season-low six personal fouls and
allowed the Rams to get to the FT line just one time
in the victory.
For Eatmon, his
scoring output against the Rams is his highest so
far this season. The senior forward needs just 46
points and 55 rebounds to become the third player in
team history to reach 1,000 points and 800 rebounds
in their career at Saint Joseph’s.
The Monks will be back
in action as they host Norwich University at 3:00 PM
in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The
Rams will be back on the road Saturday at Emmanuel
College at 1:00 PM.
###
Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs
Suffolk
02/04/10 7:30pm at
Regan Gymnasium
At Regan Gymnasium
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 75,
SUFFOLK 66
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.)
Ray Eatmon 11-17 3-4
25; Zach O'Brien 6-16 4-6 17; Alberto Rue 7-16 0-2
15; Chris Petzy 5-10 0-0 10; Tom Ray 2-3 2-2 6;
Julio Vazquez 1-3 0-0 2; Craig Merrick 0-1 0-0 0;
Eric Friend 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-66 9-14 75.
SUFFOLK
Mickey McEntee 7-14
0-0 17; Matt Pepdjonovic 7-13 0-0 14; Sam Hutchins
4-7 0-0 10; Nolan DiPanfilo 3-9 1-1 9; Colin Halpin
3-6 0-0 6; Mike Gibbons 2-8 0-0 6; Allan Ray 1-6 0-0
2; Mario Massimino 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Barrall 0-0 0-0
0; Mike Fleming 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 1-1 66.
St. Joseph's
(Me.)............ 32 43 - 75
Suffolk....................... 38 28 - 66
3-point goals--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 2-10 (Zach O'Brien 1-2; Alberto Rue
1-4; Julio Vazquez 0-1; Chris Petzy 0-3), Suffolk
9-20 (Mickey McEntee 3-6; Nolan DiPanfilo 2-3; Mike
Gibbons 2-5; Sam Hutchins 2-2; Mike Fleming 0-2;
Allan Ray 0-2). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None,
Suffolk-Mickey McEntee.
Rebounds--St. Joseph's
(Me.) 46 (Ray Eatmon 13), Suffolk 31 (Matt
Pepdjonovic 18). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 15
(Zach O'Brien 9), Suffolk 12 (Sam Hutchins 5; Matt
Pepdjonovic 5). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 6,
Suffolk 13. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's
(Me.)-None, Suffolk-None. A-40
