SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Saint Joseph's College (3-3) withstood a second-half comeback effort to defeat Union College (0-4), 78-76, in the Sig Makofski Invitational men's basketball tournament on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory Saint Joseph's advances to the invitational championship game and will face SUNY-Polytechnic Institute in the title bout tomorrow at 4:00 PM.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks carried a 45-32 lead into intermission after shooting 55.9% (19-34) in the first half and held a game-high 16-point (57-41) advantage after freshman John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) hit a three-pointer with 13:08 remaining in the second stanza. Union cut the SJC cushion down to just five points after posting a 13-2 run, which was capped when Luke McGarrity made a pair of free throws to make it a 59-54 game with 10:13 left to play.

Senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) netted eight points over the subsequent five minutes to help provide the visitors with a 71-61 lead with 5:53 left to play, but the Dutchmen refused to go down without a fight as a Mike Manley three-pointer made it a 76-72 game with 2:26 on the clock. Abbott hit a jumper on the next SJC possession, but the Monks failed to maintain the gap as Union freshman Aren Cummings connected on a pair of shots to cut the deficit to 78-76 with 1:18 left.

Abbott came up big on the defensive end by blocking a Justin Regis jumper with 15 seconds remaining and the Dutchmen sandwiched a missed SJC free throw with a pair of missed shots, including a buzzer-beater three-point attempt by Regis, allowing the Monks to escape with the two-point triumph.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks shot 50.8% (33-65) from the field while the Dutchmen posted a 34.3% (23-67) overall effort – including a paltry 22.2% (8-36) first-half performance – from the floor…Union made 26-of-29 (89.7%) free-throw attempts while St. Joe's went to the line just six times, making three shots, in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Abbott was 12-for-16 from the floor, including a 3-for-4 effort from downtown, en route to scoring a game-high 27 points with seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots
• Graduate Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) added 17 points with three boards and three assists
• Graduate Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) netted 12 points and was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc
• Frazier scored nine points with six rebounds
• Junior guard Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) tallied six points, six rebounds, and five assists

LEADERS – UNION:

• Cummings netted 15 points with eight boards and a pair of assists
• Brian Noone posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds
• Manley added 11 points, five caroms, four assists, and a pair of steals
• Regis and Lemar Fulmore chipped in with 11 points apiece

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 1-1 all-time versus Union College. The Monks and Dutchmen have not met on the hardwood since January 11th, 2003, when Union bested St. Joe's by an 80-62 margin in Schenectady.

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