NO. 7 FALCONS NEED OVERTIME TO SURVIVE SCARE FROM SAINTS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 7 Albertus Magnus men's basketball team used a 99-89 overtime win over Emmanuel College on Tuesday night to extend their home court winning streak to 53 consecutive games – the longest active home win streak in NCAA men's basketball (all levels). After Jordan DeMario (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) hit a three pointer to give the Saints an 86-83 lead with three seconds on the clock, a full-court pass and a three-pointer at the buzzer by Tavon Sledge (Spring Valley, N.Y.) tied the contest to send it into overtime. Check out some HIGHLIGHTS from the final seconds of regulation.

The Falcons went on to out-score the Saints 13-3 in the overtime period en route to the victory.  The Falcons were led by Eian Davis (Brooklyn, Conn.), who registered a triple-double, with a career-high 37 points to go along with 10 assists and 10 rebounds in 45 minutes of work.

With the win, Albertus is now 22-1 on the year to mark the fourth-straight year in which the Falcons have registered 22 or more wins in a single season. The Falcons are now 16-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.  Emmanuel drops to 8-15 on the year and 6-11 in league action.

Albertus trailed by 11 points with 5:34 left in regulation before battling back.  Eian Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who led all scorers with 37 points, hit two free throws to cut the Saints' lead to six at 79-73 with 2:22 on the clock.

Freshman Chaunce Dunbar (Windsor, Conn.) knocked down a three-pointer with 1:38 left to go to cut the Saints' lead to three before Emmanuel connected on three of four free-throw attempts to push its lead back up to six.

A layup with just over a minute to go by Davis made the score 82-78 before Dunbar got the Falcons to within one with another three pointer with 46 seconds left. After a foul, DeMario hit one of his two free-throw attempts to give Emmanuel a two-point lead before a Davis jumper tied the contest at 83 with 14 seconds left.

The Saints were able to get their three to go by DeMario, but Albertus answered with Sledge's shot at the buzzer to keep the Falcons' hopes alive.

Davis tallied his career-high 37 points as he shot 11-of-17 from the floor and 14-of-16 from the charity stripe.  Sledge shot 10-of-23 from the floor and finished the night with 28 points.

Lemar Larsen (Waterbury, Conn.) added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Falcons, while Victor Ljuljdjuraj (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) contributed with 10 points, seven blocks and six rebounds in just 30 minutes of work.  Dunbar finished with nine points, all of which came from behind the arc.

Emmanuel had five players register double figures as DeMario led the Saints with 16 points off the bench. He added six rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore forward Aidan Hadley (Owls Head, Me.) hit for 14 points and grabbed eight boards off the bench, while junior center Kyle Davis (Groveland, Mass.) netted 13 points for EC.  John Clay (Westport, Mass.) and Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) chipped in with 11 points apiece to round out five double-figure scorers in the effort for the Saints.

Emmanuel shot 50% (18-of-36) from the floor in the first half and went into intermission with a 42-37 lead.  The Saints also out-rebounded the Falcons 22-14 in the opening half.

Albertus shot 46.7% (14-of-30) from the field in the opening frame and was led by Davis with 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Sledge added 14 first-half points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with three assists.

Emmanuel led by as many as seven points with 6:28 to go in the frame and held the Falcons without a field goal in the opening three minutes of the contest.

The Falcons' finished the night shooting 48.6% from the floor, while the Saints shot 42.3%. The Saints hit just 1-of-11 from the field in the overtime period.

Albertus is now 18-11 all-time against the Saints and hold a 10-5 record against Emmanuel in New Haven.  The Falcons have now won 13-straight contests against the Saints dating back to the 2008-09 season.

The Falcons return to action on Thursday when they host Mount Ida College in a GNAC match-up. Thursday's game will serve as 'Senior Night' as the Falcons will honor their six seniors prior to the contest.

Emmanuel will play again on Saturday, when the Saints host Suffolk University in a cross-twon GNAC rivalry, set to tip off at 1:00 PM.  Jordan DeMario will be honored prior to the start of the game, as the Saints' lone senior on the squad.

- Release Courtesy of Albertus Magnus Sports Information