Sophomore Matt Pepdjonovic (Quincy, Mass.) had a career-high 29 points to lead the Suffolk University Rams (4-6, 2-1 GNAC) to a 77-71 victory over the St. Joseph's College Monks(5-2, 2-1 GNAC) Saturday afternoon at the Regan Gymnasium.

A 9-0 run late in the second half would decide the game, as Suffolk picks up their second win of the season in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, and fourth overall. With both teams deadlocked at 65 points a piece with less than four minutes remaining, the Rams went 9-for-11 as a team from the free throw line and added a clutch three point field goal from the corner by sophomore Colin Halpin (Melrose, Mass.) to close out the victory.

Halpin finished the game with 19 points, while junior Justin Barall (East Hampton, Conn.) scored a season-high 17 points as he went a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Junior Zach O'Brien (Schenectady, N.Y.) led the Monks with 19 points. Senior Tyler Kelley (Saco, Me.) chipped in with 13 points as he connected on three treys of his own.

The biggest difference in the game was the dominance of Pepdjonovic in the paint. The Suffolk center fell just shy of a triple-double as he also collected 13 rebounds and had four assists. Pepdjonovic was also a defensive monster as he blocked three Monks' shots over the final seven minutes of the game, and led all players with nine defensive rebounds in the contest. The Rams held a slight edge in rebounds at 38-33, but dominated in the paint scoring 36 points. Pepdjonovic had 19 first half points, going 9-for-12 from the floor.

The Rams managed to control the score most of the game as they went into the intermission with a seven point lead at 45-38. Suffolk would hold the lead for the majority of the second half until a late 10-2 run by the Monks got the game even at 65 when freshman Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) connected on a three-pointer at 3:47. It would be all Suffolk the rest of the way though, as Pepdjonovic nailed four free throws, and Halpin added five points over the final three minutes to secure the win as the Rams now head into the holiday break.

The Monks will be back in action on December 30 as they travel to Davidson College to take on the Wildcats at 7:00pm. Suffolk will be idle until January 11 when they travel to Emmanuel College to take on the Saints in GNAC competition at 5:30pm.