BOSTON – As history repeats itself, the Suffolk men's basketball team found itself in a double figure margin at half time versus Albertus Magnus. The Rams rallied a comeback, but came up short once again as the Falcons outlasted the Rams, 72-59 inside Regan Gymnasium Thursday night.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 59, Albertus Magnus 72
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-10, 3-4 GNAC) | Albertus Magnus (10-3, 6-1 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Albertus Magnus wasted no time to jump ahead as an 11-2 lead turned into a 19-2 advantage at the midway point. Suffolk slowly, but surely found its offense, but never made a big enough run to make a dent in the Falcons' edge. The visitor's 17-point lead at the halfway point of the first frame held at the half as the Rams headed to the locker room down, 40-23.
A see-saw game came out of the locker room before a good lay-up from Michael Hagopian sparked Suffolk. The sophomore started a 14-0 run and capped it off with a trey to pull the Rams within three, 49-46, with 9:01 remaining.
The Falcons halted the spurt with a timeout and swiftly rebuilt a double digit distance once again. With just over five minutes left on the clock, Thomas Duffy started things for Suffolk once again, this time a six unanswered points, including four from Duffy, made things interesting once again, 58-54.
In a game of runs, the last one was made by the visiting Falcons, who put in 11 unanswered points to put the game just out of free for the Rams. Jonathan Eng was determined for Suffolk to be the last to score and it was as the freshman connected on a good trey as time expired for the final 72-59 decision in the Falcons favor.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Hagopian led a well-balanced offensive game for the Rams with the sophomore providing 14 points and added six rebounds.
- Duffy shot 60 percent to finish second on the squad with 13 points off the bench and a team-high eight boards to go along with two handouts and two takeaways.
- Quinn McCartney also contributed double figures with 11, shooting 5-for-10 from the field. The senior forward chipped in six boards, two blocks and one steal.
- Kevin Querusio registered six rebounds on the defense end and pitched in three points and two assists.
- Suffolk shot 38.3 percent (28-60) from the field, 75.0 percent (9-12) at the charity stripe and 22.2 percent (4-18) from long range.
- The Rams and Falcons were even on the glass, 32-32, assists, 9-9, and steals, 7-7, with Suffolk out blocking Albertus Magnus, 3-1.
NOTEABLES
- Querusio's six rebounds mark a career-best for the sophomore.
POST-GAME PIC
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk hits the road Saturday, Jan. 14 as it travels to Lasell for a 3 p.m. GNAC contest.