PHOTO CREDIT: Dylan Vonderhaar '26

STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore forward Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) scored a career-high 23 points to help lift Saint Joseph's College (5-8) past Bates College (2-9), 84-80, in a hotly contested non-conference men's basketball game on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

In a contest featuring nine tie scores and 12 lead changes, the deciding dagger proved to be a Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) three-pointer taken from the top of the key to give the Monks an 81-80 advantage with 35 seconds left. The Bobcats missed a layup on their next possession, Wani made a layup with six seconds left, and Donato iced the victory with a free throw, making it an 84-80 game with 1.8 seconds on the game clock.

In the early going Bates broke free from a 9-9 score at the 16:14 mark with a 22-7 run en route to securing a 13-point lead (29-16) with 11:33 before the break. Freshman guard Marc Begin II (Jacksonville, Fla.) scored 13 of his game-high 47 points during the five minute surge.

The Monks fought back into contention with a 15-7 outburst with Donato connecting on a pair of threes in a matter of 30 seconds to cut the SJC deficit to 36-31 with 5:08 before the break. The visitors extended their lead to eight points (43-35) when Begin made two freebies at the 2:17 mark, but SJC senior Camryn Yorke (Auburn, Maine) converted a traditional three-point play and freshman Pitia Donato (Portland, Maine) tapped in a layup to make it a four-point game (44-40) going into intermission.

Bates started the second stanza with a 7-2 burst spanning just 90 seconds to earn a 51-42 cushion, but the Monks remained within striking distance before mounting an 11-0 run. Grad forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) hit a go-ahead (61-60) layup with 10:47 left and junior Julian Llopiz (Boston, Mass.) completed the outburst with a pair of free throws 37 seconds later to put the hosts on top, 63-60.

The in-state rivals proceeded to swap the lead 10 times during the subsequent 10 minutes before Wani hit the game-deciding shot with 35 seconds left.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's outshot Bates from the field (45.5% - 40.0%), three-point range (37.5% - 29.6%), and the FT line (88.2% - 64.0%) and held the lead in points in the paint (38-30) and bench points (23-15) in the victory.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Wani Donato tallied 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks and was 4-for-5 from three-point distance
• Llopiz came off the bench to net 14 points with four boards and was 6-for-6 from the FT line
• Junior guard Teagan Hynes (York, Maine) notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists
• Sophomore guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) added 10 points, two boards, and a pair of assists
• Abbott chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds
• Wani added nine points, three rebounds, and three assists

LEADERS – BATES:

• Begin posted an incredible effort with 47 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 17-for-33 from the floor and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe; his point tally is the most by an SJC opponent (and fifth-highest overall) since Sean Bertanza dropped 55 for Lasell University against the Monks on February 12th, 2011
• The Bobcats' second leading scorer was sophomore guard Peter Psyhogeos (Yarmouth, Maine), who came off the bench to net eight points in 24 minutes
• Senior forward Stephen Ward (Boston, Mass.) pulled down 10 rebounds with three assists
• Senior swingman Trace Gotham (Medfield, Mass.) added six points and six boards

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's snaps a three-game skid at the hands of the Bobcats and improves to 11-17 all-time versus Bates College.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup set to start at 3:00 PM.

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