SUFFOLK SILENCES SAINTS IN GNAC ACTION, 80-69

BOSTON, Mass. – The Suffolk men's basketball team put a complete game together to take down crosstown and GNAC rival Emmanuel, 80-69, inside Regan Gymnasium Thursday night. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 80, Emmanuel 69
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-8, 2-2 GNAC) | Emmanuel (1-9, 0-4 GNAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a back-and-forth opening that locked the score five times Suffolk stormed on a 10-0 run to take a 24-14 advantage. The roles reversed as Emmanuel one-upped the Rams stretch quite literally with an 11-0 spurt to regain the advantage 25-24. 

Steven DiPrizio took matters into his own hands as the sophomore went off on six unanswered points to regain the edge for the hosts, 31-25, with less than six minutes to play before the break.

DiPrizio once again lit the fire for the Rams with the forward's lay-up jump started an 8-2 Suffolk stretch that sent the blue-and-gold into intermission ahead, 41-33. 

The teams traded hoops to open the second stanza with Suffolk keeping Emmanuel at a distance. The Saints put on the pressure and an Emmett Riddick triple followed by a layup from Will Jessup cut the Rams' advantage to five, 57-52, with 12:47 remaining in the second half. 

Suffolk quieted the visitors with a six consecutive points. From there, the Rams answered each one of the Saints comeback attempts to keep Emmanuel at a 16-point distance, 74-58, with 7:18 on the clock. Down the stretch Suffolk stymied the Saints comeback to take the 80-69 victory. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• DiPrizio led Suffolk's scoring with 21 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 at the line. He added seven boards and one block to his performance.
• Michael Hagopian added 13 points, going 5-for-11 from the floor, to go along with five handouts, three caroms and one steal.
• Jim Djema rounded out the Rams in double figures with a 12-point effort. The sophomore also pitched in three boards and two assists.
• Quinn McCartney had a well-balanced day with the senior contributing seven points and seven rebounds, including five on the defensive end.
• Suffolk finished the night with a 52.6 connection rate (30-57) from the field, while Emmanuel shot just 36.9 percent (24-65) from the floor.
• The Saints held up the upper hand in rebounds, 39-33, and took advantage of their trips to the charity stripe, shooting 77.3 percent on freebies (17-22). 

NOTEABLES

• Suffolk recorded just its ninth win all-time against the Saints in the all-time meetings.
• The Rams dropped 80 points against Emmanuel for the firth time overall and first since 2014.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk makes its first trip of 2017 Saturday, Jan. 7 when it stops by Mount Ida for a GNAC contest while the Saints host Saint Joseph's College (ME) the same day with both tips schedulled for 1:00 PM.

*Release courtesy of Suffolk University Sports Information