FRANKLIN, Mass. – Junior guard Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine) netted 29 points and was one of three Saint Joseph's College players to hit the 20-point mark as the Monks (13-8, 8-0 GNAC) defeated Dean College (15-6, 5-3 GNAC), 93-78, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball play on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the Monks extend their winning streak to 10 games.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's set the tone early with a quick 5-0 start, but Dean answered immediately behind a blistering first half from Naser Motley – who scored 18 points before the break - as the game tightened into a back-and-forth stretch.
The Bulldogs held a 19-17 edge with 10:56 left in the first half, but the Monks claimed the lead – for good, as it played out – with a 14-2 run that featured five different scorers and was capped by a Pitia Donato (Portland, Maine) layup with the visitors on top, 31-21, with 7:58 before the break. Saint Joseph's maintained control from there and carried a 47-40 lead into the break.
Dean made multiple pushes after intermission and trimmed the margin to seven (74-67) with 6:39 remaining, but senior guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) drilled a three 40 seconds later to give the Monks some breathing room and the Monks made 7-of-8 free-throw attempts in the closing minute to secure the victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's shot 53.1% (34-64) from the floor and 35.7% (10-28) from three-point range while Dean finished at 45.3% (29-64) overall and 38.9% (7-18) from beyond the arc…The Monks won the battle on the glass (42-28) and turned 12 offensive rebounds into an 18-7 edge in second-chance points…Saint Joseph's also held the advantage in points in the paint (40-26), while Dean led in points off turnovers (24-14).
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Remijo Wani: 29 points (11-23 FG), 8 rebounds, 3 assists
- John Paul Frazier: 25 points (5-11 3PT), 5 rebounds
- Wani Donato (Sr., Portland, Maine): 21 points (8-9 FG), 7 rebounds, 3 steals
- Tong Maiwen (Sr., Juba, South Sudan): 7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
LEADERS – DEAN:
- Naser Motley: 25 points
- Izayah Porter: 15 points, 6 rebounds
- Christian Yeates: 12 points
- Donnary Fontenot: 10 points
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win Saint Joseph's remains undefeated (5-0) in the history of the series with Dean College.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Rivier University on Wednesday in a conference contest set to start at 5:00 PM.
