No. 6 Men's Basketball Starts Postseason Run at No. 3 Saint Joseph's (ME)

BOSTON – A loss in the season finale dropped the Emmanuel men's basketball team down to 12-13 (8-6 GNAC) this year, moving them to the No. 6 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Playoffs. Hitting the road for their opening round GNAC Playoff game for the first time since 2017, the Saints travel North to the No. 3 seeded Saint Joseph's College Monks (16-9, 12-2 GNAC) for a Tuesday, Feb. 22, game at 7:00 p.m. on Mike McDevitt Court.

Emmanuel is seeking their second straight trip to the GNAC Semifinals, after making a run in 2022-23, before falling to the eventual GNAC Champions in Albertus Magnus last season.

Saint Joseph's is looking to return to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season where they entered the conference tournament as a No. 6 seed, reaching the semifinals following an upset win over No. 3 Johnson & Wales.

Saints senior Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) showed again why he is one of the conference's best players, averaging 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. The senior guard ranks fifth in scoring and fourth in rebounding in 2023-24 among conference players. Pope is the only player in the GNAC to rank in the top five in scoring and rebounding average.

Fellow senior Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) is one of the Saints most consistent players, averaging career-highs of 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. In his 25 starts for Emmanuel this season, Grijalva has scored in double figures in 22 of the 25 games.

Sophomore Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) is averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game this season, but has finished out the season on a strong note for the Saints. In his last six games, Baines is averaging 15.7 points per game while shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The Monks carry a significant amount of momentum into the GNAC Playoffs, entering Tuesday's game on a nine-game winning streak. Since changing the calendar to 2024, the Monks are 12-1 with their lone loss coming in overtime to Albertus Magnus.

Five members of the Saint Joseph's program average double-digits in scoring, led by sophomore guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) and his 15.0 points per game. Frazier is a volume shooter, having made the second-most total three-pointers in the GNAC this season with 78. The three-point threat has made three or more three-pointers in 17 of his 25 appearances for the Monks this season.

Grad student Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) brings 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game to the Monks lineup this season. Abbott is a consistent shooter for Saint Joseph's, ranking second on the team in field goal percentage at 52.8 percent.

First-year Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) averages 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. Junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) each averaged 10.4 points this season. The second-year forward in Donato is another consistent shooter in the Monks ranks, shooting a team-best 52.9 percent this season.

Earlier this season, nearly two weeks ago on Feb. 7, the Saints nearly ended the Monks winning streak, taking Saint Joseph's into overtime before ultimately falling 78-74 on McDevitt Court.

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 free throws 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 Monks 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.

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. Wani scored 20 points with seven rebounds and a pair of steals for Saint Joseph's.

Tuesday's winner moves into the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 24. The No. 2 seed Albertus Magnus will await the winner of a Monday night game between the No. 7 seed Regis and the No. 10 seed Dean. The winner of the 7-10 game will go on to face Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, with the winner advancing to play on Thursday against the winner of Emmanuel and Saint Joseph's.