Saints Battle to Force Overtime, Fall Shy in Comeback Loss, 78-74 at St. Joe's

STANDISH, Maine – Freshman guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) scored a team-high 20 points to help propel Saint Joseph's College (13-9, 9-2 GNAC) tip Emmanuel College (10-12, 6-5 GNAC), 78-74 in overtime, in a high-stakes Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The conference rivals traded the lead several times in the early going, but Saint Joseph's gained some breathing room with a 16-4 run that was capped by a John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) jumper and the hosts holding a 31-14 cushion with 3:17 before the break.

The Monks' advantage quickly evaporated however, as the Saints charged back with 11 unanswered points to make it a six-point (31-25) game heading into the break.

St. Joe's kicked off the second half with an 11-4 run, as an Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) three-pointer lifted the hosts to what seemed to be a comfortable 42-29 lead 2:50 into the final frame. But Emmanuel had other plans and posted a 23-8 outburst en route to claiming their first advantage, 52-50, since the opening minutes after Zaire Barnes (Queens, N.Y.) made a layup with 8:12 left in regulation.

The game remained a two-possession affair for the rest of regular time as the GNAC foes basically swapped scores in the closing 90 seconds. Trailing 67-66 with 31 seconds left, Emmanuel saw senior guard Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) go to the FT line for two shots as he drained the first attempt to tie the game and missed the second. Both teams had a chance to win in regulation, but the Monks coughed up the ball and freshman Mahari Guerrier (Stoughton, Mass.) missed a baseline jumper as time expired.

Wani spearheaded the Monks' overtime efforts with five points on a layup and a three-pointer in the first minute of extra time and Frazier countered a pair of Pope freebies with a layup to make it a 74-69 game with 3:26 remaining. Wani continued to have the hot hand and gave his team a 76-71 lead after making a layup with 1:05 on the OT clock before sophomore Ismani Cepeda (Roslindale, Mass.) cut the SJC advantage to two points with a three-pointer 10 seconds later.

Both teams committed turnovers on the subsequent possessions before Frazier knocked down a pair of high-pressure free throws to put the game out of reach with nine seconds left.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's held a considerable 48-28 lead in rebounds and won despite turning the ball over 22 times…The Monks went 13-for-34 from downtown while the Saints made 9-of-25 three-point attempts.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Wani scored 20 points with seven rebounds and a pair of steals
• Junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) was 5-for-7 from three-point range with 17 points, five boards, and two assists
• Frazier netted 16 points with seven caroms, two assists, and a pair of steals
• Abbott added eight points, four boards, two assists, and two steals
• Senior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with six points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

• Pope scored a game-high 21 points with six rebounds and was 7-for-11 from the field, including a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc
• Senior guard Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) netted 14 points with four boards, three assists, and three steals
• Baines came off the bench to net nine points with four assists and three rebounds

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 21-10 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Mitchell College on Saturday in a GNAC contest set to start at 3:00 PM. The Monks will celebrate the team's two seniors – Yorke and Max Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) – with a brief ceremony before tip-off. The Saints host New England College on Saturday and will hold a senior day ceremony prior to tip.

**Release courtesy Saint Joseph's College Athletic Communications Office