JWU Comes Up Short Against #1 Saint Joseph
Sophomore Josh Zangerle scored 19 points for the Johnson & Wales (RI) University men’s basketball team in an 86-70 loss to No. 1 University of Saint Joseph Tuesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at the Wildcat Center.
Zangerle connected on seven of his 10 shots – including 3-of-4 from downtown – before fouling out midway through the second half. Senior Aireus Raspberry played all 40 minutes for head coach Jamie Benton and filled the stat sheet with 17 points, five boards and a pair of assists while junior Mike Rogers added 10 points off the bench.
The Wildcats (12-12, 9-8 GNAC) fell behind 7-0 early but rallied back to take a 10-9 lead – the first of five one-point leads they held in the first half. The Blue Jays (25-0, 16-0 GNAC) eventually settled into an 11-point halftime lead at 38-27. Graduate student Ryan O’Neill led all student-athletes with 17 points for USJ while Zangerle’s eight paced the home team.
The Blue Jays scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half to extend their lead to 18 points (47-29). JWU climbed to within 11 points on four occasions in the opening 10 minutes as Zangerle went off for nine points during that span.
Leading 61-52 midway through the stanza, the Blue Jays went on an 11-2 run to stretch their lead to 20 points at 73-53 with 5:58 on the clock. USJ held a 20-point advantage until the final 90 seconds of the contest and closed the night shooting 55 percent (30-of-55). It also outrebounded JWU, 37-31.
O’Neil finished with 26 points for USJ while senior Jaecee Martin chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. JWU, meanwhile, shot 38 percent from the field and 91 percent from the charity stripe.
JWU battled foul trouble all night as Zangerle, graduate students Bryan Davis and Jontai Williams, and junior Sean Duke all picked up three first-half fouls. Zangerle fouled out with 9:05 remaining in the second half, Williams fouled out three minutes later, and Duke drew his fifth foul with 100 seconds remaining.
