STANDISH, Maine – #1 Saint Joseph's College (18-8, 12-0 GNAC) will host #5 Emmanuel College (14-12, 7-5 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal on Friday at 7:00 PM.

Having secured the top seed for the second straight season, the defending 2025 GNAC champions are seeking their first repeat conference title since the Monks won six consecutive Western Maine Athletic Conference crowns from 1983-88.

OVERVIEW:

Friday night's winner advances to the 2026 GNAC Championship and will face the winner of the other semifinal between #2 University of Saint Joseph and #3 Albertus Magnus College on Sunday, March 1, with the higher seed serving as host.

The GNAC champion earns an automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship, which begins Friday, March 6.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Saint Joseph's advanced to the GNAC semifinals for the 12th time since 2008 with an 85-62 quarterfinal win over #8 Norwich on Wednesday night in Standish. The Monks opened on an 8-2 run, never trailed, and built a 38-23 halftime lead before pushing the margin to 22 less than three minutes into the second half. SJC led by as many as 28 and controlled the glass, 50-33, while shooting 44.3% from the floor and holding Norwich to 35.5% shooting and 22.7% from three. Remijo Wani paced the Monks with 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while Wani Donato (15 points, 11 rebounds), Davis Mann (13 points, 9 rebounds), Tong Maiwen (12 points, 10 rebounds), and John Paul Frazier (11 points) also scored in double figures.

Fifth-seeded Emmanuel reached the semifinals with a dramatic 76-74 upset at #4 Lasell on Wednesday night, winning on Mahari Guerrier's pull-up jumper with three seconds remaining. The Saints erased a 26-point first-half deficit to secure the program's first road playoff win in a decade. Cameron Snowden led the comeback with a career-high 30 points (10-for-10 FT), while Guerrier added 21 points, 12 rebounds, and the game-winning basket.

BRACKETOLOGY:

Quarterfinals – Wednesday, Feb. 25

#1 Saint Joseph's College def. #8 Norwich University, 85-62
#2 University of Saint Joseph def. #7 Dean College, 92-79
#3 Albertus Magnus College def. #6 Regis College, 96-57
#5 Emmanuel College def. #4 Lasell University, 76-74

Semifinals – Friday, Feb. 27

#1 Saint Joseph's College vs. #5 Emmanuel College, 7:00 PM
#2 University of Saint Joseph vs. #3 Albertus Magnus College, 7:00 PM

Championship – Sunday, Mar. 1

Semifinal winners, TBD

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks enter the semifinal round on a 15-game winning streak, the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division III. Saint Joseph's also closed the regular season with 26 straight GNAC wins (last conference loss: Dec. 7, 2024 vs. USJ), the longest active conference win streak in the country.
• Saint Joseph's has not lost to a GNAC opponent at home since Jan. 13, 2024 (Albertus Magnus), winning 22 straight home conference games.
• Nationally, the Monks rank seventh in rebound margin (9.8) and assists per game (19.3), 10th in offensive rebounds per game (15.48), 13th in rebounds per game (43.32), 23rd in three-pointers per game (10.2), and 26th in scoring offense (86.0).
• Saint Joseph's is 9-1 and averaging 82.6 points per game at home this season. For the second straight year, four Monks are averaging at least 14.0 points per game. SJC has made 10+ three-pointers in 13 games this season, including 20 in wins over Old Westbury and Colby-Sawyer.

Emmanuel:

• Emmanuel ranks fourth in the GNAC in free throws made (13.8) and attempted (20.0) per game and fourth in assists (14.9).
• The Saints are 7-7 and averaging 66.9 points per game in 14 road contests this season.
• Emmanuel features four players averaging at least 10.0 points per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Saint Joseph's:

• (#10) Junior guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine), the 2025 GNAC Player of the Year, leads the conference in scoring average (23.0) and ranks third in field goals made (177), fifth in three-pointers made (61) and total points (460), and eighth in three-point percentage (41.2%). Earlier this winter, he became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points during his junior season.
• (#24) Senior guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) is averaging 15.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 45.2% from the floor, 40.6% from three, and 71.7% at the line. He leads the GNAC in three-pointers made (71), has scored 1,434 career points, and ranks second among active NCAA Division III players with 310 career three-pointers.
• (#12) Senior forward Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) averages 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 57.0% from the field. He ranks third in the GNAC in blocks (38), fifth in field goal percentage, and also sits among the league leaders in steals (49, 6th) and assists (94, 6th). Donato scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season.
• (#0) Freshman guard Davis Mann (Falmouth, Maine), a six-time GNAC Rookie of the Week honoree, is averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 86.4% at the line. He ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage and fourth in offensive rebounds (67).

Emmanuel:

• (#23) Junior guard Mahari Guerrier (Stoughton, Mass.) is averaging 15.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 45.3% from the floor. He leads the GNAC in defensive rebounds (180) and ranks fourth in both rebounding average and total rebounds (207).
• (#24) Senior guard Noah Beaudet (Norwood, Mass.) averages 14.9 points per game while shooting 45.1% from the field and 42.8% from three. He leads the GNAC in three-point percentage and ranks second in three-pointers made (65).
• (#12) Freshman guard Danny Adams (Quincy, Mass.) is averaging 11.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. The five-time GNAC Rookie of the Week selection is shooting 43.3% from the floor.
• (#32) Junior forward Cameron Snowden (Franklin Park, N.J.) averages 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest while shooting 57.6% from the field and 80.0% from the line. He ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage.

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's: Tyler Ackley – 5th season (84-53, .613)

Ackley led the Monks to a standout 2024-25 season, guiding Saint Joseph's to a 24-5 overall record, a 13-1 GNAC mark, the top seed in the conference tournament, and the program's second GNAC Championship. The Monks returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009, and Ackley earned GNAC and Maine State Coach of the Year honors.

Named the fifth head coach in program history in September 2021, Ackley has steadily elevated the program after a 9-18 debut season, followed by records of 15-12, 18-9, and 24-5. Before Saint Joseph's, he spent four seasons at Colby College as The John "Swisher" Mitchell Assistant Coach, helping the Mules reach their first NESCAC Championship game and first NCAA Tournament berth in 23 years.

Emmanuel: Littell White – 5th season (64-66, .492)

A member of the Emmanuel staff since 2018, White spent three seasons as an assistant before being named interim head coach in May 2021 and officially taking over in October 2021. In his first four seasons as head coach, he went 50-54 and helped sustain one of the strongest stretches in program history, including the program's first run of four straight 15-win seasons. White was also part of Emmanuel's 2019 D3hoops.com Coaching Staff of the Year and previously worked as a player development intern with the Dallas Mavericks and as an associate head coach at Huron High School.

THE LAST TIME WE MET – Saint Joseph's def. Emmanuel, 81-54 (Jan. 20, 2026, Standish):

Saint Joseph's turned an 8-8 game early in the first half into a decisive 81-54 win behind a pair of key runs and a balanced offensive effort. The Monks used a 13-2 surge to build a 21-10 lead, answered an Emmanuel push with a 9-0 burst to go up 33-20, and carried a 40-27 advantage into halftime before pulling away with an 18-4 run in the second half. SJC shot 48.5% from the field, held Emmanuel to 31.6% shooting, and assisted on 26 of 32 field goals. Remijo Wani led the way with 28 points and 15 rebounds, while Davis Mann scored 15 points and Wani Donato added 13 points, six assists, and four steals.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win in the last meeting, Saint Joseph's improved to 24-10 all-time against Emmanuel and has won four straight in the series.

GNAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

Saint Joseph's has qualified for the GNAC Tournament in all 18 seasons as a conference member and has won at least one postseason game in each of the last four years. The Monks are 20-15 all-time in GNAC Tournament play, with conference championships in 2009 and 2025 and runner-up finishes in 2011, 2014, and 2024.

Emmanuel is 11-18 in GNAC postseason play and has reached the conference tournament in 20 of 25 seasons as a member (since 2001-02). The Saints have appeared in two GNAC Championship games (2007, 2009), and Friday's semifinal marks the program's eighth semifinal appearance.

The Monks and Saints have met twice in the GNAC Tournament, both in Standish, with Saint Joseph's winning both by one possession: 74-72 in the 2009 championship game and 74-73 in the 2024 semifinal.

Emmanuel is 5-15 in GNAC postseason road games, while Saint Joseph's is 15-5 all-time in GNAC Tournament games at the Harold Alfond Center.

GNAC TEAM STATS COMPARISON: