THE BASICS
-Score: Assumption College 74, Georgian Court 64
-Records: Assumption (6-4), Georgian Court (4-6)
-Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laska Gymnasium)
-The Lead: The Assumption College men's basketball team came out with a victory over the Lions of Georgian Court University on Saturday afternoon. Junior point guard, Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) notched his 1,000th career point and led the Hounds in scoring with 17 points in the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Hounds pulled ahead 5-0 to kick off the game with a drive to the hoop by Cal Connelly (Rochester, N.H. / Spaulding / Tilton) and a three-pointer by Kelly. The Lions used a 6-1 run to take a 17-8 lead with 11:48 to play. Kelly made a trip to the free throw line and knocked down both shots to earn his 1,000th career point and bring the hosts within seven, 17-10.
-Assumption pulled back within three with back-to-back layups by first year Isiah Gaiter (Meriden, Conn. / Sacred Heart High School / Huntington Prep) with 3:14 to go in the first half. A three-pointer by Kelly and a layup by freshman Kani Glover (Brockton, Mass. / Catholic Memorial / Bridgton Academy) tied the game at 28-28 with just over a minute on the clock, but the Lions used a basket by junior Bryce Council before the buzzer to take the 30-28 edge into the halftime break.
-The Hounds used three pointers by seniors Branislav Vujadinovic (Belgrade, Serbia / St. Joseph) and Patrick Fleming (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. / Iona Prep) to take a six point lead within the first three minutes of the second half (36-30). They pulled ahead by 12 with a three by Glover at the 10:50 mark. Georgian Court rallied back within five with just over five minutes to play, but the Hounds used nine points from Kelly in the final stretch of play to take the final 74-64 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Kelly finished with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals in the victory. Red-shirt junior Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) put up a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Hounds. Vujadinovic finished the day with 10 points and eight rebounds while Gaiter came off the bench with 10 points to go along with five assists.
-Sophomore Justin Figueroa led Georgian Court with 15 points. Junior Alonzo Ortiz-Taylor and first year Shane Williams each put up 11 points for the visitors.
-Assumption shot 36.5% (23-for-63) from the field while Georgian Court shot 40.7% (24-for-59).
-The Hounds outrebounded the Lions 46-32.
-Assumption shot 86.4% (19-for-22) from the free-throw line while the visitors shot 81.8% at the charity stripe (9-for-11).
-Georgian Court turned the ball over 19 times and the Hounds scored 23 points off of those.
UP NEXT
-Assumption is back in action after the New Year, when they host Chestnut Hill on January 2nd at 2:00 p.m.