SAINT JOSEPH'S DOWNS MEN'S BASKETBALL, 70-47

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (12-10, 9-6 GNAC) toppled Emmanuel College (8-14, 6-10 GNAC), 70-47, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) netted a game-high 26 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the important conference win.

Saint Joseph's held the lead from wire to wire as the hosts opened with the game's first seven points and were ahead by a 30-8 margin after sophomore guard Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) connected on his third three-pointer of the opening frame at the 3:55 mark. The Monks carried a harrowing 34-12 cushion into intermission and led by at least 14 points for the duration of the conference contest.

St. Joe's posted a 56.5% (13-23) shooting performance from the field in the first half and improved upon the number with a 57.1% (8-14) effort in the second stanza. Emmanuel countered by shooting just 17.2% (5-29) from the floor – including an 0-9 three-point performance - in the opening frame, but rebounded with a solid 44.4% (16-36) clip after the break, as the visitors played essentially even with the Monks holding a slim 36-35 edge in the second half.

Overall, the Saints launched 24 three-point attempts and made just one – a Josh Bushman (Hurst, Texas) trey at the 14:33 mark of the second half – in the losing bid.

For the Monks, Ruffen registered 11 points and six rebounds, junior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) added nine points, freshman forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) tallied eight points and five rebounds, and senior guard Jordan Tripp (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in with seven points, three assists and three caroms.

Junior center Kyle Davis (Groveland, Mass.) paced the Saints with 16 points and eight rebounds, Bushman and junior forward John Clay (Westport, Mass.) produced nine points apiece, and sophomore guard Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed six points, four boards and three assists on the afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 15-2 all-time versus Emmanuel College, a team the Monks defeated by a 73-69 margin earlier this season in Boston on December 4th. St. Joe's has now defeated the Saints in six-consecutive meetings. Today's point total by Emmanuel is the fewest scored by either team in the 17-game history of the matchup.

Saint Joseph's returns to action on Monday evening when the team hosts Bates College, in a game that has already been postponed twice, at 7:00 PM. The Saints travel to Albertus Magnus College on Monday night for a 7:00 PM conference contest.

*Release courtesy of Saint Joseph's College Sports Information