Courtesy St. Michael’s Sports Information
WATERBURY, CT. — The Saint Michael’s College men’s basketball team withstood a missed tying three-point attempt at the buzzer to down Post University, 78-75, on Sunday at Drubner Center, keyed by senior Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) scoring 22 of his 25 points in the second half.
RECORDS
· Saint Michael’s (3-6), Post (5-4)
SAINT MICHAEL’S LEADERS
· Senior Jordan Guzman (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian), 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 6-for-10 three-pointers
· First-year Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School), 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4-for-6 field goals, 4-for-4 free throws
· Junior Walker Storey (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 13 points, 3-for-5 three-pointers
· First-year Kasai Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y./Millbrook School), 10 points, 9 rebounds
· Sophomore Jontai Williams (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes), 7 points, 4 assists, 3 steals (1st career start)
· Senior Eli DiGrande (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
OPPONENT LEADERS
· Senior Savion Boissard, 17 points, 5 rebounds
· Junior Darrick Boyd, 16 points, 4-for-10 three-pointers
· Senior Marcus Johnson, 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals
· Redshirt first-year Devonte McCall, 9 points, 7 rebounds
GAME FACTS
· Guzman scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, hitting his first six three-point attempts. Seventeen of his points came over the last 10:21 of the game.
· Saint Michael’s allowed 27 points in the first half, its fewest since yielding 27 to Assumption College in the second half last Feb. 16. It was the Purple Knights’ best road half since allowing 25 points at Pace University last Jan. 26.
· Post was regionally ranked in the D2SIDA East Region Media Poll as recently as late November and defeated 20th-ranked Saint Anselm College, 88-75, on Dec. 4.
· The Purple Knights played their first game since Dec. 4, having broken from action due to final exams.
· Saint Michael’s is undefeated against Post in four all-time meetings.
· The Purple Knights shot 14-for-28 (50.0%) from three-point range – including 8-for-12 in the second half – while limiting the Eagles to an 8-for-27 (29.6%) performance. The visitors held a 40-39 edge on the boards while picking up 12 steals on 16 Post turnovers.
THE ACTION
· Boyd buried back-to-back threes 10 seconds apart to give Post an 8-2 lead at 18:19 of the first half, but Storey drilled three triples in a matter of 46 seconds to kick off a personal 13-4 run, sparking a 26-7 stretch.
· Gorham came off the bench to score seven straight Purple Knight points in his first 3:50 of play, putting the visitors up 28-15 at 6:29. His dunk with 4:47 left capped his scoring nine consecutive Saint Michael’s points, providing a 30-22 edge to end a 7-0 Post run.
· DiGrande netted six points amid a 13-2 stretch, and Brown’s lay-in at 1:22 pushed the lead to 41-24.
· Boissard scored six points in a 10-0 run that bridged halftime and brought Post within 42-35 at 18:34 of the second stanza.
· Williams knocked down a jumper 40 seconds later before Brown and Guzman both drilled threes to conclude an 8-2 stretch, pushing the Purple Knights into a 50-38 lead at 16:21.
· Redshirt junior Thomas Jackson III’s (Middletown, Conn./Holderness School) lay-up at 14:20 had the Purple and Gold up 54-42 before six Eagles scored in a tying 17-5 run, with junior Jonathan Duvivier scoring six points before sophomore Isaiah Holmes’ jumper knotted the teams at 59 with 9:25 left.
· Guzman wrapped a pair of threes around a Duvivier jumper during a 57-second stretch that reestablished a Purple Knight lead, and another Guzman triple at 6:42 concluded an 11-4 run that had the visitors ahead by a 70-63 count.
· Boissard’s three-point play at 5:10 was countered by a Brown three with 4:22 to go, and Holmes’ lay-up cut the deficit to 73-70 before Guzman knocked down a three from the top of the arc at 2:54 to create a six-point cushion.
· Another Boissard three-point play made it 76-75 with 1:38 left, but Saint Michael’s rebounded two missed shots – one at each the offensive and defensive end – before Guzman was fouled with 9.4 seconds to go and sank both freebies to make it 78-75. Post gained a clean look at a tying three at the buzzer, but the shot was offline and Brown grabbed the rebound.
NEXT SAINT MICHAEL’S GAME
· Wednesday vs. Assumption College, 7:30 p.m.