Top-seeded Monks And Two-Seeded Lasers To Meet In GNAC MBB Championship

WINTHROP, Mass. - There will be a new champion crowned Saturday as the top-two seeds will meet in the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Basketball Championship as the #1 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) and #2 seed Lasell University both advanced to Saturday's game after the Monks defeated the Falcons, 85-71, while the Lasers defeated the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 80-69. SJC will look to avenge last year's GNAC Championship loss will look to capture their first title since 2009 while the Lasers will look to claim the GNAC trophy for the first time since 2008. When the two teams met earlier in regular season play this year, the top-seeded Monks defeated Lasell, 94-71. This match-up is set to tip off at 4:00 PM after the Women's Basketball Championship game, which is also held at Saint Joseph's (Maine).

Recap Courtesy of Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications

STANDISH, Maine – #1 Saint Joseph's College (21-6) defeated #4 Albertus Magnus Falcons (17-10) 85-71. 

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
The St. Joseph's College Monks earned a spot in the conference championship game with a dominant 85-71 victory over Albertus Magnus in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday night. The Monks delivered a strong, all-around performance, particularly in the second half, to secure their place in the title matchup.Saturday, the Monks will host #2 Lasell in the GNAC Championship.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
First-year guard Silvano Ismail led all scorers with an outstanding 29-point performance, hitting 7-of-13 shots from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long range, and converting 13-of-15 free throws. Ismail also added 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals, rounding out a remarkable all-around effort.

Despite trailing 37-31 at halftime, Albertus Magnus struggled to keep pace with St. Joseph's in the second half, as the Monks outscored them 48-40 to clinch the win.

Remijo Wani chipped in with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 3 three-pointers, while sophomore Wani Donato contributed 15 points and 9 rebounds. John Paul Frazier also reached double figures, scoring 13 points, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

On the defensive side, the Monks forced 18 turnovers from Albertus Magnus while committing just 14. St. Joseph's dominated the paint, scoring 32 points inside and converting 54.2% of their free throws.

For the Falcons, Jayquan Kirkland led the way with 26 points, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Monks' well-rounded attack.

With the win, St. Joseph's advances to the conference championship game, where they'll aim to capture the title and secure an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Monks will host Lasell University on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the championship showdown.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Silvano Ismail (Portland, ME) recorded 29 points, five rebounds, three steals, and seven assists
• Remijo Wani (Portalnd, ME) notched 21 points, five rebounds, three steals, and four assists
• Wani Donato (Portland, ME) tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal
• John Paul Frazier (York, ME) added 13 points, six rebounds, and one steal
• Pitia Donato (Portland, ME) led the Monks in rebounds with 10 and assists with eight

LEADERS –ALBERTUS MAGNUS COLLEGE:

• Jayquan Kirkland led the Falcons with 26 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal
• Tazhon Daniels tallied 12 points
• Avery Hinnant recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Recap Courtesy of Lasell Athletic Communications

Newton, MA - The #2 seeded Lasell University Lasers hosted the #3 Blue Jays of Saint Joseph (CT) on Thursday for the Semi-Final Round of the GNAC Tournament. 

In their regular season matchup, the Lasers defeated the Blue Jays for the first time in program history 71-66. After defeating them, they jumped up in the standings and ended up earning the homecourt advantage in the playoffs, which proved to be very useful Thursday. In front of a packed Laser crowd, the energy was felt right from the tip as Che Hanks got to his spot in the midrange and hit a baseline jumper scoring the first points of the game. However, these would be the only two Laser points across the first four minutes, as both teams struggled to score. After taking a 7-2 lead into the first media timeout, the Blue Jays scored twice more out of the intermission going up 11-2. The slow start and early Blue Jay lead did not phase the Lasers though, as by the second media timeout they were able to settle in and narrow the deficit to only 3, behind three-pointers from Esmer Madesko and Che Hanks. As soon as the Lasers had whittled the lead down, USJ proceeded to rattle off an 11-2 run, which made it 26-14 Blue Jays with 6:28 remaining in the half. Facing their largest deficit of 12, the Lasers knew they needed to climb back in before the end of the half. A Daniel Edmonds layup got the run started, which then turned into multiple defensive stops and transition buckets. This was capped by Conan McCusker feeding Esmer Madesko whose layup made it just a two point game. A few minutes later, another Madesko layup put the Lasers up 29-28, which was their first lead since 2-0. Marcus Lewis then ended the half a few minutes later with a jumper that gave the Lasers a 31-30 halftime edge. 

Opening the second half, each team held leads of four points in the early going. First Lasell got a 36-32 lead after seeing a Che Hanks triple drop through the net. Then after being down 37-40 at a media timeout, the Blue Jays went 9-2 over just a 1:49 span and recaptured the lead 46-42, forcing a Lasell timeout. Going forward a couple of minutes, the game was 52-51 in favor of the Lasers when Hanks got inside for another score. Andy Madesko then forced a steal which left him alone on the break where he punched the ball home and made USJ call a timeout, going up 56-51. After the timeout, Saint Joseph would even the game up again just over a minute later, 58-58, and once more 60-60. Following this tie though, the Lasers would not relinquish the lead again. Brothers Andy and Esmer Madesko took turns over key moments down the stretch combining for the next 9 Lasell points, bringing the game to a 69-65 score with 3:16 remaining. Getting a stop on the defensive end, Che Hanks then drove and spun the ball off glass pushing the lead to 6. Then after getting fouled on his next attack to the hoop, he sank two free throws making it a three possession game with 1:45 left. At this point, USJ needed multiple buckets and stops to make it interesting, and the Lasers did not allow this to happen as they secured rebounds and sank enough of their shots from the line to keep the Blue Jays at bay. The Lasers would go on to win with a final score of 80-69 and advance to their first GNAC Championship appearance since the 2016-17 season. 

Che Hanks had the hot hand all night putting up a season-high 27 points in the Laser victory. Closely behind him was Esmer Madesko who notched 23 points and also provided 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Andy Madesko had a typical great all around effort with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Marcus Lewis also joined his teammates in double-figures with 12 points and 6 rebounds. 

Up Next - The Lasers will now travel to face the #1 seed Saint Joseph (ME) in Standish, ME on Saturday afternoon for the GNAC title. Game time is 4:00 PM.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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