Second-Stanza Rally Propels Monks Past Rams

BOSTON, MA - Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 13 boards to lead Saint Joseph's (15-5, 10-3 GNAC) to a 75-66 conference victory over Suffolk University (5-15, 1-2 GNAC) on Thursday evening.

Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) added 17 points, 9 assists and 7 caroms and Alberto Rue '10 (Jamaica Plain, MA) contributed 15 points for the Royal Blue. Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Monks' victory.

Rams' freshman guard Mickey McEntee (South Kingstown, RI) paced the hosts with 17 points, while Matt Pepdjonovic '13 (Quincy, MA) netted 14 with a game-best 18 rebounds and Sam Hutchins '12 (Andover, MA) chipped in with 10 points and 5 dimes in the losing effort.

For the second time this week, St. Joe's rallied to erase a halftime deficit en route to a GNAC win. The Monks, who trailed 38-32 at the break, were able to overcome the difference with a 58.1% (18-31) second-half shooting effort and a run early in the latter stanza.

The Monks held at least a share of the lead for the first 9:30 of play, as Suffolk gained its first advantage when Nolan DiPanfilo drained a three-pointer with 10:30 left in the first half. Back-to-back buckets by Tommy Ray '12 (Cape Elizabeth, ME) and Rue put St. Joe's back on top and a Petzy basket with 6:14 before the break put the Royal Blue up 27-23. With the help of a trio of treys, two from McEntee, the Rams managed to outscore the Monks, 15-5, over the final minutes of the half and carried a 38-32 lead into intermission.

McEntee led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, while Eatmon netted 10 and Petzy poured in 8 for the Monks in the opening period.

Suffolk held a 43-36 cushion three minutes into the second stanza, but three consecutive baskets and a freebie from Eatmon kick started a 14-0 blanking for the Monks, who led 50-43 after O'Brien drained a jumper at the 14:11 mark.

The feisty Rams refused to go away, however, and regained the lead with a 17-5 surge that spanned the subsequent seven minutes of play. Colin Halpin closed out the hosts' run with a jumper with 7:12 remaining to give his team a 60-58 lead.

The Monks put together another shutout string, this time a 10-0 blanking, over the following three minutes to regain the lead for good. O'Brien netted five of the points and Rue hit a mid-range jumpshot with 4:33 left to put Saint Joseph's ahead, 68-62.

The Rams maintained a two-possession deficit for much of the remainder of play, but a 5-6 effort from the charity stripe helped keep the hosts at bay as St. Joe's headed north with a 75-66 victory in tow.

St. Joe's shot 48.5% (32-66) overall, 20% (2-10) from beyond the arc, and 64.3% (9-14) from the line, while Suffolk shot 41.8% (28-67) from the field, 45% (9-20) from three-point distance and 100% (1-1) from the line. The Monks held a 46-31 advantage on the boards and collected 17 offensive caroms, which ties a season-best, in the win.

Saint Joseph's committed a season-low six personal fouls and allowed the Rams to get to the FT line just one time in the victory.

For Eatmon, his scoring output against the Rams is his highest so far this season. The senior forward needs just 46 points and 55 rebounds to become the third player in team history to reach 1,000 points and 800 rebounds in their career at Saint Joseph's.

The Monks will be back in action as they host Norwich University at 3:00 PM in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The Rams will be back on the road Saturday at Emmanuel College at 1:00 PM.

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Suffolk
02/04/10 7:30pm at Regan Gymnasium
At Regan Gymnasium
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 75, SUFFOLK 66
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.)
Ray Eatmon 11-17 3-4 25; Zach O'Brien 6-16 4-6 17; Alberto Rue 7-16 0-2 15;
Chris Petzy 5-10 0-0 10; Tom Ray 2-3 2-2 6; Julio Vazquez 1-3 0-0 2; Craig
Merrick 0-1 0-0 0; Eric Friend 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-66 9-14 75.
SUFFOLK
Mickey McEntee 7-14 0-0 17; Matt Pepdjonovic 7-13 0-0 14; Sam Hutchins 4-7
0-0 10; Nolan DiPanfilo 3-9 1-1 9; Colin Halpin 3-6 0-0 6; Mike Gibbons 2-8
0-0 6; Allan Ray 1-6 0-0 2; Mario Massimino 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Barrall 0-0
0-0 0; Mike Fleming 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 1-1 66.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   32   43  -   75
Suffolk.......................   38   28  -   66
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 2-10 (Zach O'Brien 1-2; Alberto Rue 1-4;
Julio Vazquez 0-1; Chris Petzy 0-3), Suffolk 9-20 (Mickey McEntee 3-6; Nolan
DiPanfilo 2-3; Mike Gibbons 2-5; Sam Hutchins 2-2; Mike Fleming 0-2; Allan
Ray 0-2). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Suffolk-Mickey McEntee.
Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 46 (Ray Eatmon 13), Suffolk 31 (Matt
Pepdjonovic 18). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 15 (Zach O'Brien 9), Suffolk 12
(Sam Hutchins 5; Matt Pepdjonovic 5). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 6,
Suffolk 13. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Suffolk-None. A-40