STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-8, 4-4 GNAC) defeated Johnson & Wales University (7-9, 5-5 GNAC), 86-70, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The conference counterparts swapped the lead several times in the early going and the Monks held a 31-25 lead with 7:30 left in the first half. The hosts proceeded to claim some breathing room with a 24-11 run during the remainder of the opening period, as senior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) capped the surge with a three-pointer at the first half buzzer to make it a 55-36 game heading into intermission.

SJC freshman guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) netted 17 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting in the first half and drilled trifectas in three-consecutive St. Joe's possessions during the game-changing outbreak.

Saint Joseph's went on to earn a game-high 28-point lead (73-45) after freshman forward Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) hit a jumper with 11:29 left in the second stanza.

STATS OF THE GAME:

St. Joe's shot an even 50.0% (32-64) from the floor and netted 14 three-pointers in the triumph…JWU shot 40.4% (23-57) overall and was 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three-point distance on the afternoon.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Frazier led all scorers with 17 points and added four rebounds
• Abbott registered a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds with five assists
• Sophomore guard Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) scored 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench
• Graduate guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) netted 12 points with seven assists, four boards, and two steals
• Sophomore guard Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) was 3-for-5 from downtown with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals
• Graduate guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) scored nine points with four assists, three caroms, and three steals

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Freshman forward Izaiah Shaw-Glen (Baldwin, N.Y.) paced the visitors with 15 points and pulled down four rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench
• Junior guard Sean Duke (Providence, R.I.) tallied 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals
• Sophomore guard Josh Zangerle (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) scored 12 points with four caroms, three steals, and a pair of assists
• Senior guard Aireus Raspberry (Cranston, R.I.) added 12 points and four rebounds while playing all 40 minutes

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's improves to 14-16 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University with this afternoon's victory.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Colby-Sawyer College on Wednesday in a conference contest set to begin at 7:30 PM.

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