2010 Men's Basketball Championship Preview

By Melissa Maitland

GNAC Sports Information Specialist

The two teams with the best regular season conference records will face off this Saturday for the 2010 Great Northeast Men's Basketball Championship.  The #1 seed Albertus Magnus Falcons (21-6, 15-3 GNAC) are set to battle the #2 seed Emerson College Lions (20-7, 15-3 GNAC) on Saturday, February 27 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Arena in "The Nest".  The winner of the GNAC Championship will be awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

In two previous meetings this season, both teams won tight contests on the road.  Emerson defeated Albertus Magnus, 75-74, on Jan. 12 and the Falcons defeated the Lions, 70-68, on Feb. 6.  Last season it was Albertus Magnus that knocked Emerson out of 2009 GNAC Men's Basketball Championship in the quarterfinals, 78-50.  The Falcons were then sent packing in a semifinal loss to the eventual 2009 GNAC Champion, St. Joseph's (ME), 75-64.   

#1 Seed Albertus Magnus Falcons

The Falcons reach the championship game after defeating #8 seed Rivier, 81-60, in quarterfinal action on Feb. 23 and knocking off #5 seed Johnson & Wales, 78-76 on Feb. 25.  In their quarterfinal game against the Raiders, the Falcons were lead by junior guard Walden St. Juste, who scored a game high 30 points.  Freshman center Jefferson Lora added a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. 

The Falcons trailed 28-24 going into halftime of their semifinal game against the Wildcats.  Albertus Magnus went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to tie the game at 36.  Alex Muniz scored his only field goal of the night, a three pointer with 1:40 remaining in the game, to give the Falcons a 69-68 lead.  The Falcons went to the free throw line 12 times in the final minute and a half of play, with St. Juste going 7 for 8 from the line, giving his squad a 78-76 advantage with 3.6 seconds left to play.  Lamonte Thomas's three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, sending Albertus Magnus to the championship game.  Ray Askew had game highs of 36 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 5 assists.  St. Juste and Byron Reaves each had 13 points. 

Albertus Magnus is the top offensive team in the conference, averaging 81.3 points per game.  Askew leads the Falcons offense, scoring 22.3 points per game, ranking him 2nd in the GNAC in scoring.  Askew is also ranked 1st in the GNAC in rebounds (12.1 pg), offensive rebounds (4.4, pg), and defensive rebounds (7.7 pg), 6th in field goal percentage (.512), and 8th in steals (1.4 pg) and blocked shots (1.2 pg).  Albertus Magnus will also look to St. Juste, who is ranked 2nd in the GNAC in steals (2.2 pg), 6th in points (15.3 ppg), and 11th in 3-point field goals made (1.6 pg), as well as Lora, ranked 3rd in the conference in blocked shots (2.2 pg), 8th in rebounds (7.1 rpg), 9th in defensive rebounds (4.8 pg), 10th in offensive rebounds (2.2 pg), and 20th in points (12.0 ppg).

#2 Seed Emerson Lions

The #2 seed Emerson Lions defeated the #7 seed Norwich Cadets, 62-45, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23.  The Lions overcame a 23-20 halftime deficit by going on a 13-2 run to open up the second half.  In the first half Emerson committed 11 turnovers and shot under 35% from the floor, while Norwich managed to shoot 50% from the field.  Jeremy Shannon lead all scorers with 24 points and had a team high 6 rebounds and 9 assists.  Tommy Messinger had 15 points while Al Dempsey added 14 for the Lions.

The Lions then defeated the #6 seed Lasell, 72-47, on Feb. 25 in the semifinals.  Emerson, the top defensive team in the GNAC, held Lasell to 23% shooting from the field in the first half.  The Lions shot a blistering 65% from the floor, including going 6 for 8 from long range.  Emerson took its largest lead of the game, 23 points, at the end of the first half and Lasell could not overcome that deficit combined with Emerson's tenacious defense.  Shannon had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Messinger and Dan Boylan each added 12 points.

Bryan Rouse is the leading scorer for the Lions, netting 19.8 points per game, ranking him 4th in the GNAC in scoring.  Rouse is also ranked 6th in free throw percentage (.770), and 15th in field goal percentage (.480).  Rouse will look to get the ball from Shannon, who is ranked 1st in assists in the conference (5.3 pg).  Shannon is also ranked 3rd in defensive rebounds (6.7 pg), 4th in steals (2.0 pg), 6th in assist turnover ratio (1.2), 7th in points (15.1 ppg) and rebounds (7.3 pg), and 11th in field goal percentage (.489).  Messinger, a threat from beyond the arc, is ranked 2nd in the GNAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.445), and 6th in 3-point field goals made (2.5 pg).

* all statistics through Feb. 22, 2010