BRUNSWICK, Maine – Junior guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) scored a career-high 45 points to help Saint Joseph's College (6-7) defeat Bowdoin College (5-7), 95-86, in a non-conference men's basketball game on Monday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Polar Bears rode hot shooting to take an early 14-point lead, pushing their advantage to 22-8 early in the opening half, but the Monks chipped away at the lead thanks to 26 first-half points from Casale, closing the gap to 45-41 just before the break.

Saint Joseph's remained within striking distance and managed to secure the lead for the first time when sophomore guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) hit a layup to put his team up 68-67 with 9:04 left.

As it played out, the Monks held on to the advantage for the remainder of the contest and grabbed a game-high 14-point cushion after freshman Drew Shea (Mount Desert Island, Maine) made a layup to cap a 20-7 SJC run and extend the visitors' lead to 88-74 with 1:49 on the clock.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks shot 58.2% (32-55) from the floor, 48.4% (15-31) from three-point range, and 88.9% (16-18) from free-throw line, a shooting performance that was marginally better than that of the Polar Bears, who shot 52.5% (31-59), 42.9% (12-28), and 75% (12-16) from the field, beyond the arc, and the charity stripe, respectively.

BEYOND THE BOX:

Casale's 45-point output is the seventh-highest total in NCAA DIII Men's Basketball so far this season (MacMurray sophomore Logan Dorethy, who netted 56 in a 164-156 win over Greenville on January 8th, is the current single-game leader). Only one other New England player has scored more in a contest this year: Gordon College's senior Eric Demers, who netted 49 versus Nichols College on December 10th.

The junior's scoring total tonight counts as the fourth-highest point total in the 50-year history of SJC men's basketball and most since Carl Howell '99 scored 50 against Atlantic Union on December 3rd, 1998. With 52 points versus Maine-Machias on February 21st, 1997, Howell owns the Monks' all-time single game scoring record.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Casale added seven rebounds and was 14-for-19 from the field, 5-for-8 from downtown, and a perfect 12-for-12 from the FT line
• Curtis scored 22 points and was 6-for-11 from three-point distance
• Sophomore guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) added 10 points and three rebounds
• Junior guard Tatsuaki Sakai (Ishikawa, Japan) dealt 12 assists with five points and six rebounds
• Shea and Zac Manoogian (Westbrook, Maine) came off the bench to chip in five points apiece

LEADERS – BOWDOIN:

• Sam Grad paced the Polar Bears with 23 points and eight rebounds
• Manav Randhawa contributed 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists
• David Reynolds and Morgan Edwards added 13 points apiece

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory Saint Joseph's improves to 11-15 all-time versus Bowdoin College and has now emerged victorious in three of the last four meetings with the Polar Bears.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Thomas College on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

$website.include("/bp")