SUFFOLK MEN’S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Regan Gymnasium, Boston, Mass.

FINAL: JOHNSON & WALES 102, SUFFOLK 88

BOSTON, Mass.-- Senior Japhet Kerr (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.) scored 30 points, while fellow senior Greg Samuels (Philadelphia, Pa.) added a double-double effort of 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead Johnson & Wales to a 102-88 Great Northeast Athletic Conference men’s basketball victory over Suffolk Saturday afternoon at Regan Gymnasium.

The visiting Wildcats (6-4, 3-1 Great Northeast) used 12 unanswered points to ignite a 37-17 run that covered a nine minute span in the opening half of action en route to a 20-point (47-27) cushion with 3:09 to play before intermission, but the host Rams (2-10, 1-4 Great Northeast) whittled that margin to 55-41 at the break. Suffolk employed a full court press that caused 10 Johnson & Wales turnovers in the opening eight minutes of the second half, as the Rams capped what proved to be a 45-17 run over a 12:27 stretch to take a 72-64 advantage on a jumper by freshman Mike Fleming (Exeter, N.H.) with 10:43 remaining. The Wildcats responded with an 11-2 run of their own to take a 75-74 edge on a pair of Kerr free throws with 7:20 to play, and after two Fleming free throws gave Suffolk the lead back, a Samuels lay-in on the ensuing Johnson & Wales possession gave the visitors the lead for good and sparked a 9-0 run, as the hosts got no closer than five points in the final three minutes of action.

Sophomore Darren Faust (Queens, N.Y.) added 18 points and eight rebounds in the win for Johnson & Wales, which also received 15 points from senior Tirone McCray (Brockton, Mass.) in placing four players in double figures. Senior Cornejo Rodgers (Anguilla, West Indies) shared game-high rebounding honors with Samuels by hauling down 13 boards for the Wildcats, who shot 53 percent from the field and held a commanding 56-27 rebounding advantage in overcoming 37 turnovers for the contest.

Fleming netted a career-high 21 point, including five three-pointers, in the setback for Suffolk, which also received 20 points and five steals from sophomore Alan Jaziri (Norwich, Conn.). Junior Brian Small (Stoughton, Mass.) was also in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds for the Rams, who also received nine points each from freshmen Samuel Alexanian (Nashua, N.H.) and Allan Ray (Lynn, Mass.) as well as eight points from sophomore Joseph Ransom (Sheffield, England). The hosts shot 43 percent from the field and canned eight three-pointers on the day while scoring 37 points off of the 37 Johnson & Wales turnovers, but the Wildcats enjoyed a 33-14 scoring edge at the foul line.

Suffolk hosts Saint Joseph’s (Maine) in a Great Northeast outing on Tuesday evening at Regan Gymnasium beginning at 7:30 p.m., while Johnson & Wales heads to Newton, Mass. on Tuesday evening to tangle with Mount Ida in a Great Northeast match-up that begins at 5:00 p.m.