Monks Launch Aerial Assault on Cadets

Basketball - Saint Joseph's College Men

February 6, 2010

By Corey McCarthy

Zach O’Brien ’12 (Schenectady, NY) scored 21 points including going 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in Saint Joseph's lopsided victory. Photo courtesy of David Bates of Fotografixstudio.com

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph’s (16-5, 11-3 GNAC) shot 57.8% from the floor and made 15 three-pointers in a 96-74 victory over GNAC rival Norwich University (11-10, 6-8 GNAC) at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Zach O’Brien ’12 (Schenectady, NY) and Alberto Rue ’10 (Jamaica Plain, MA) combined to shoot 9-14 from beyond the arc and scored 21 points apiece in the lopsided contest.

The three-point tally ties an SJC single-game record, which was originally set on December 2nd, 1992 in a 98-78 loss to Davidson College in North Carolina. The Monks shot 46.9% (15-32) from three-point distance against the Wildcats nearly 18 years ago and shot a blistering 57.7% (15-26) against the Cadets in today’s contest.

Chris Petzy ’12 (Kensington, NH) notched 15 points, Tyler Kelley ’11 (Saco, ME) was 4-6 from long distance and netted 14 points, all in the first half, and Rashon Jones ’11 (Bridgeport, CT) added 10 points, 9 boards and 4 helpers in the Monk victory. Ray Eatmon ’10 (Huntington, NY) chipped in with a player-season, and career, high 11 assists and brought down 6 caroms with 6 points for Saint Joseph’s, which was looking to avenge a last-second loss suffered to the Cadets on January 12th.

Israel Guardado ’10 (El Centro, CA) paced the Cadets with 19 points off an impressive 9-12 effort from the floor, while Cori Boston ’11 (Boston, MA) and Jaren Jeffcoat ’10 (Dallas, TX), who grabbed a game-high 10 boards, both scored 15 in the losing effort.

The Monks captured the lead on their second possession of the game – on an O’Brien three-ball – and never looked back. A 12-0 SJC run, which began with a Rue trifecta at the 14:08 mark and ended with a Kelley long ball two minutes later, pushed the St. Joe’s lead to 25-9 and changed the face of the game, as the Monks led by at least 10 for the remainder of play. The highlight of the run was a thunderous dunk by Jones, which was set up perfectly by an O’Brien alley-oop pass from near midcourt.

The Monks carried a 56-40 cushion into the break, as Kelley (14 pts), O’Brien (14) and Rue (10) all left the court with double-digit outputs for the hosts. Jeffcoat led the Cadets with 13 points, while Guardado netted 12 points in the opening half. Both teams shot exceedingly well in the first period, as St. Joe’s shot 64.5% (20-31) from the field and 66.7% (10-15) from long distance, while Norwich achieved a 56.7% (17-30) rate from the floor.

After such a torrid start, one could realistically expect the Monks’ shooting performance to cool a bit in the second half. The shooting did slow down, but not by much, as the hosts cruised to victory while shooting 5-11 (45.5%) from beyond the arc and 17-33 (51.5%) overall in the closing period.

The Monks’ final, and record-tying, three-pointer of the game was off the hands of Craig Merrick ’13 (Mashantucket, CT), who hit the center of the hoop from the top of the key with 1:35 left in the game. The trey, which was the first of Merrick’s NCAA career, put the Monks ahead by a game-high 28 points, 96-68.

St. Joe’s shot 57.8% (37-64) overall, 57.7% (15-26) from three-point land, and 70% (7-10) from the line, while Norwich shot 52.5% (31-59) from the floor, 36.4% (8-22) from beyond the arc and 66.7% (4-6) from the FT line. The Monks held a 31-26 edge on the glass and forced 19 Norwich turnovers with 11 steals in the triumph.

Aside from the three-point tally, Saint Joseph’s registered season-highs in points, field goals made and assists (30) and tied the season-high for three-point attempts in the victory.

Both teams will host GNAC opponents on Tuesday, as Saint Joseph’s will entertain Johnson & Wales (10-11, 7-7 GNAC) and Norwich will take on Suffolk. Both games are slated to begin at 7:30 PM.

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Newspaper Box Score

NORWICH CADETS vs St. Joseph's (Me.)

02/06/10 3:00 PM at Alfond Center, Standish, Maine At Alfond Center, Standish, Maine ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 96, NORWICH CADETS 74 NORWICH CADETS (11-10, 6-8 GNAC) Israel Guardado 9-12 1-2 19; Jaren Jeffcoat 6-15 2-2 15; Cori Boston 7-11 0-0 15; Ryan Williams 3-5 1-2 9; Darell Marshall 3-6 0-0 8; Kevin Bishop 1-1 0-0 3; Leland Brunswick 1-1 0-0 3; Quincy Williams 1-2 0-0 2; Joe Figueroa 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Kuhre 0-0 0-0 0; Antonio Davis 0-2 0-0 0; Alex Gore 0-1 0-0 0; Nickolai Havoutis 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 4-6 74.

ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (16-5, 11-3 GNAC)

Alberto Rue 8-12 1-1 21; Zach O'Brien 8-14 0-0 21; Christopher Petzy 6-12

2-4 15; Tyler Kelley 5-10 0-0 14; Rashon Jones 4-5 2-2 10; Raymond Eatmon 3-4 0-1 6; Julio Vazquez 2-4 0-0 4; Craig Merrick 1-2 0-0 3; Thomas Ray 0-0 2-2 2; Eric Friend 0-1 0-0 0; Jack LaFreniere 0-0 0-0 0; Spenser Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-64 7-10 96.

NORWICH CADETS................ 40 34 - 74

St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 56 40 - 96

3-point goals--NORWICH CADETS 8-22 (Darell Marshall 2-5; Ryan Williams 2-4; Jaren Jeffcoat 1-3; Leland Brunswick 1-1; Cori Boston 1-4; Kevin Bishop 1-1; Antonio Davis 0-1; Alex Gore 0-1; Nickolai Havoutis 0-2), St. Joseph's (Me.) 15-26 (Zach O'Brien 5-8; Alberto Rue 4-6; Tyler Kelley 4-6; Craig Merrick 1-2; Christopher Petzy 1-3; Eric Friend 0-1). Fouled out--NORWICH CADETS-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. Rebounds--NORWICH CADETS 26 (Jaren Jeffcoat 10), St. Joseph's (Me.) 31 (Rashon Jones 9). Assists--NORWICH CADETS 19 (Nickolai Havoutis 8), St. Joseph's (Me.) 30 (Raymond Eatmon 11).

Total fouls--NORWICH CADETS 12, St. Joseph's (Me.) 7. Technical fouls--NORWICH CADETS-None, St. Joseph's (Me.)-None. A-393