THE BASICS
-Score: Assumption College 91, Saint Michael's college 76
-Records: Assumption (5-4, NE10 2-3), Saint Michael's (3-7, NE10 0-4)
-Location: Colchester, Vt. (Ross Sports Center)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team defeated the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College in a Northeast-10 Conference game, on the road, on Wednesday evening. Three Hounds scored over 20 points in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Hounds opened up the game with a three-pointer by junior Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) on their first possession of the game and added a pair of baskets by red-shirt junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) to take an early 7-0 lead. After a three by Saint Michael's junior Walker Storey, senior Branislav Vujadinovic (Belgrade, Serbia / St. Joseph) made a drive to the basket and knocked down a shot from behind the arc to put Assumption ahead 12-3 with 16:41 on the clock. The Hounds pulled ahead by as many as 12 in the first half with a dunk made by sophomore Cal Connelly (Rochester, N.H. / Spaulding / Tilton) for the 28-16 lead with 7:33 to play.
-The Purple Knight's used a nine-point rally including back-to-back threes from red-shirt junior Thomas Jackson III and first year Jalen Gorham to pull back within just three with 5:31 to play in the first.
-Senior Jordan Guzman stepped behind the arc for three and Storey pulled up for a jumper to tie the game at 33-33 with just over three minutes to go before the break. The half saw two more ties before the hosts were able to take a 43-38 lead into the halftime break.
-The Purple Knights pulled ahead by seven to start the second half with a three-pointer by junior Jason Herter. The Hounds responded with 13 points by Kelly to pull ahead 60-57 with 14:19 to go.
-Assumption used 17 points on a 3-for-4 showing from behind the arc in the second half from Vujadinovic and 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field from Kelly to secure the 91-76 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Vujadinovic led Assumption with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Kelly finished with 25 points and three steals while Brown also finished with a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Hounds.
-Freshman Kasai Brown led the Purple Knights with 18 points while Guzman and Storey each put up 14 points for the hosts.
-Assumption finished with 49.2% shooting from the field while Saint Michael's shot 45%. The Hounds finished shooting 40.7% from three-point range while the Purple Knights shot 42.5%.
-Both teams grabbed 35 rebounds. Assumption forced Saint Michael's to turn the ball over 20 times and scored 21 points off those turnovers.
UP NEXT
-Assumption is back at home on Saturday, December 21st when they host Georgian Court at 3:30 p.m.