BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball began its 21st and final season of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) competition Saturday afternoon with an 81-60 triumph over Anna Maria at Simmons' Moore Gymnasium.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 81 | Anna Maria 60
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-6, 1-0 GNAC) | Anna Maria (4-11, 1-1 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
An early 8-0 Rams' run blossomed to an 18-2 Suffolk stretch that gave the hosts a 20-4 cushion at the midway point of the first frame.  

Anna Maria used a scoring streak of its own to trim the margin to single digits, 24-15, at the 6:31 minute mark.  

Suffolk used shooting from downtown to build a 13-point distance, 35-22, as Jonathan Eng, Max Bonney-Liles and Alex Jacovides each poured in a hoop from behind-the-arc.  

The game of runs continued. This time it was the AMCATs that went on a spurt, outscoring the Rams, 10-3, to keep things close at the half, 38-34. 

To open the second stanza Anna Marie put in the first three points to chip the gap to one. Back-to-back buckets from Nate Hale kept ground between the conference competitors. The junior made a pull-up elbow jumper and a triple from the top the key to restore a two-possession game in the Rams' favor.                                                                                                  

The AMCATs swung momentum in their favor though, converting five straight points. The run was capped off by a fast-break lay-up that turned into a traditional three-point play that gave the visitors their first lead their first possession of the game, which came 36 seconds into the contest.  

Jarret Byrne regained the lead for the Rams on their next possession before things would lock for the third and final time at 47-all. 

From there, Suffolk took over behind Jacovides finesse inside and outside the arc. The junior followed pull-ups with treys and mixed in layups to help the Rams build a 66-53 advantage with just under six minutes left in regulation.  

A give-and-go between William Rowe and Eng pushed Suffolk up 18 with 3:21 on the clock. It was time management from there for the Rams, who used their possession wisely to walk away with the 81-60 conference-opening decision.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Jacovides led the way offensive with a game-high 23 points behind a 9-for-12 showing from the floor and 4-for-6 showing from down. He added four caroms and two helpers. 
• Eng and Hale each had 11 points. Eng shot 4-for-7 from the field, while Hale went 4-for-6 from the floor. 
• Rowe registered a well-balanced, offensive, defensive effort of eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. 
• Collectively the Rams shot 58.6 percent (34-58) on the day, 38.5 percent (10-26) from three-point range and 60 percent (3-5) on the free throw line. 
• Each team grabbed 32 rebounds and scored 34 points in the paint. 
• The AMCATs took advance of their second chances, with 14 second-chance points. 
• The Rams reserved score 42 points to anchro the victory.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk opened its 21st GNAC season. 
• The Rams won their third straight conference debut, their first three league opening wins in a row since 2012-15. 
• Suffolk is now 12-9 on day one of its GNAC season, 3-2 in the Jeff Juron era. 
• The blue-and-gold pulled the curtain back on its conference calendar at a neutral site for the first time. 
• Suffolk and Anna Maria met in the Rams' first league game of the season for the first time. 
• Suffolk defeated the AMCATs for the second straight year to move to 7-10 all-time against Anna Maria. 
• The Rams improved to 4-4 versus the AMCATs under Juron's guidance.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk heads to Saint Joseph (Conn.) Tuesday, Jan. 22. The Rams and Blue Jays will battle in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.