STANDISH, Maine – Husson University (1-0) used a late rally to push past Saint Joseph's College (1-2), 81-73, in a non-conference men's basketball game at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday evening.

THE LEAD

The Monks led by as many as 14 points late in the first half and held a 73-70 edge after junior Andrew Ruffen (Salem, N.H.) netted a layup with 5:09 left to play, but momentum swung the Eagles' way in the final five minutes, as the visitors closed the contest with 10 unanswered points en route to the 81-73 triumph.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Ruffen paced the Monks with 13 points and added three rebounds
• Sophomore forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) contributed 10 points, six assists and three boards
• Freshman forward Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) was perfect (4-4) from the field with 10 points
• Senior guard Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) and freshman guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with nine points apiece
• Junior guard John Crawley (Fitchburg, Mass.) tallied eight points and six caroms in 17 minutes on the court

LEADERS – HUSSON

• Senior forward Trevon Butler (Waterbury, Conn.) posted an impressive double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds in the victory
• Junior guard Raheem Anderson (Miramar, Fla.) posted 19 points with four boards and four steals
• Junior forward Tyler Norris (Hampden, Maine) contributed 18 points and six caroms

FIRST HALF

• Ruffen put the Monks on the board on the first possession, draining a three-pointer off a Luschenat feed 16 seconds into the contest
• Husson owned a 21-14 advantage after sophomore forward Darryl Wood (Philadelphia, Pa.) made a layup at the 12:29 mark, but Saint Joseph's responded with an impressive 16-2 run, which was capped by a Ben Malloy (Standish, Maine) trifecta and lifted the hosts to a 30-23 lead with 8:10 remaining in the opening frame
• Three pointers from Luschenat and freshman Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) propelled the Monks to a 12-point (37-25) cushion 5:57 before the break and the Royal Blue held a 42-28 lead three minutes later when Ruffen netted a three off a Richardson-Newton pass
• The Eagles soared back into contention with 12 unanswered points, an effort capped by a traditional three-point play by Wood, and SJC senior guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) finished the half with a nifty layup, making it a 44-40 game heading into the break.

SECOND HALF

• The in-state rivals essentially traded buckets for the first 10 minutes of the second stanza
• Three pointers from Malloy and Corey lifted the Monks to a 66-58 lead with 9:18 remaining
• The Eagles would not go away easily and claimed their first taste of the lead of the second frame when Norris hit a jumper to knot the contest at 68-68 at the 6:14 mark
• The Monks maintained the lead with the help of a Luschenat three and a layup by Ruffen, but could not hold off the Eagles, who proceeded to post the aforementioned 10-0 offensive burst

TEAM STATS

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 35-48 in the history of the series with Husson University and has now dropped three-consecutive contests to the former conference rival

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's plays at Maine-Farmington on Monday night at 7:30 PM while Husson is off until Tuesday, December 1st when the Eagles the Beavers in a conference match-up beginning at 7:30 PM.

#GOMONKS

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.