Saint Joseph Holds Off Nichols at Home Tuesday Night, 77-70

Game Leaders

Nichols
Pts: Tavon Jones - 28
Reb: 2 Players (#00, #01 - 7)
Ast: 3 Players (#00, #01, #04 - 2)
St. Joseph (Conn.)
Pts: Lence Altenor - 23
Reb: Friedrich Feldrappe - 10
Ast: 4 Players (#04, #11, #14, #15 - 2)

Team Stats

Nichols
St. Joseph (Conn.)

Field Goals

(23-55)
(27-67)

Field Goal %

41.8%
40.3%

Rebounds

34
42

Assists

10
13

Turnovers

16
12

Pts off Turnovers

8
15

2nd Chance Pts

2
15

Pts in the Paint

32
38

Fastbreak Pts

6
12

Bench Pts

11
22
full stats
Nov 14, 2023

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team held off the visiting Nichols College Bison and earned a hard-fought victory, 77-70, in an action-packed non-conference contest inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium Tuesday night in West Hartford, Conn. With the triumph, the Blue Jays remain perfect to start the 2023-24 season and improve to 3-0, while the Bison drop their first contest of the year and slip to 2-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • After the Bison scored on their opening possession, the Blue Jays ripped off a quick 8-0 run featuring back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guard Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.) and senior guard Chaylyn Martin (Hartford, Conn.) and a steal and slam by sophomore Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany) to put USJ up 8-2 three minutes in.
  • However, the Bison countered with a 15-4 run over the ensuing three minutes, fueled by a trio of three-pointers from senior guard Mykel Derring (Boston, Mass.), to retake the lead, 17-12.
  • Saint Joseph chipped away and eventually knotted the game at 19-all just over two minutes later when senior guard Tyree Mitchell (East Hartford, Conn.) buried a three-pointer from the left wing.
  • Mitchell's triple was the start of a subsequent 9-1 run and was part of bigger 13-3 run to give the Blue Jays back the lead (25-20) with 9:02 left to play in the first half.
  • The Bison would not let the Blue Jays pull away though and levelled the contest once again within the next three minutes to make it 25-25 with 6:19 to go on the first-half timer.
  • Both teams traded points over the remainder of the half as the game saw four lead changes and the score tied twice in the final 4:39 of the opening period. An Altenor three-pointer provided USJ its largest gap in the final minutes (39-34), but a pair of Derring free throws with five seconds remaining cut Nichols' deficit to three (39-36) entering the halftime intermission.
  • USJ opened the second-half scoring with a pair of Altenor free throws, but the Bison rattled off a quick 6-0 burst to reestablish their lead (42-41) three minutes into the second stanza.
  • The Blue Jays punched right back by scoring the next six points via back-to-back layups from senior forward Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.) and a tough driving floater that kissed off the backboard by Martin to give USJ back the lead (47-42) with just under 15 minutes left to play.
  • Nichols got within three points twice over the next two-plus minutes, but USJ's sophomore guard Jonathan Box (Frisco, Texas) drilled a three from the left wing and was fouled in the process for a four-point play to give the Blue Jays their largest lead so far in the game (53-46) with just over 12 minutes to go.
  • The Bison would not go away though and fought back with a 9-2 run over a 3:44 span to even the game once again (55-55) with 8:14 left in regulation.
  • With the game in the balance, it was USJ who took control on its home court and answered with the next eight-straight points capped by a Samuels slam and layup to put the Blue Jays up 63-55 with five minutes to play.
  • USJ built its lead to as large as 10 (70-60) after four made free throws when a foul was called on the floor followed by a technical foul assessed to the Bison with just over three minutes left.
  • A quick 5-0 spurt that saw Nichols' junior guard Dominic Mello (Wareham, Mass.) drill a three followed by a steal and score gave the Bison one last gasp, but the Blue Jays got a timely bucket from Feldrappe and went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes to ice the game, 77-70.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

  • Altenor, Samuels and Box finished in double figures for the Blue Jays with 23 points, 16 points and 10 points, respectively.
  • Nichols' senior guard Tavon Jones (Linden, N.J.) scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Bison, while Derring joined him in double figures finishing with 17.
  • Feldrappe chipped in with seven points and matched his career-high by grabbing a game-best 10 rebounds for Saint Joseph. USJ won the battle on the boards overall, 42-34.
  • USJ shot 40.3% (27-67) from the field, 33.3% (6-18) from three and 68.0% (17-25) from the line.
  • Nichols shot 41.8% (23-55) from the field, 29.2% (7-24) from three and 77.3% (17-22) from the line.
  • The game featured nine lead changes and the score was tied five times.
  • It marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

UP NEXT

Men's basketball returns to the hardwood this weekend, Friday and Saturday, November 17-18, at the Lafrance Hospitality Classic hosted by UMass Dartmouth. The Blue Jays are set to take on a pair of New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opponents, playing Colby College in the opening game of the classic-style tournament on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. before facing crosstown foe Trinity College on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. All games will be played inside UMass Dartmouth's Tripp Athletic Center in Dartmouth, Mass.

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