(Courtesy of St. Michael's College Sports Information)
EASTON, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team began its season with two straight wins for the first time since 2008-09 by downing Georgian Court University, 97-57, on Sunday during the final day of the Stonehill College Tip-Off Classic in Merkert Gymnasium. The Purple Knights sent the Lions, who are in their first year of varsity play, to 0-2. Saint Michael's put together its highest point total during a contest that did not extend into overtime since Nov. 19, 2004, and reached the 90-point plateau in back-to-back games for the first time since November 2007.
Sophomores Will Davis (Valley Stream, N.Y./Holy Cross) and Morrell Gaskins (Cambria Heights, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) each notched a career-high 13 points off the bench for the Purple Knights, with Davis adding three assists and three steals. Gaskins, who entered the contest with one career point, neared a double-double thanks to nine rebounds while tacking on two steals and shooting 5-for-6.
Juniors Dom Ditlefsen (Portland, Ore./Sunset) and Mike Thompson (Rosedale, N.Y./Christ The King Regional) each scored 12 points, with Ditlefsen adding seven boards and three assists. First-year Matt Bonds (Accokeek, Md./North Point) totaled nine points and seven caroms in 14 minutes off the bench, and junior Mike Holton Jr. (Portland, Ore./The Winchendon School) had nine points to push his career total to 974. He aims to become the 42nd Purple Knight with 1,000 for a career. Saint Michael's shot 54.4 percent overall, including 84.4 percent (27-for-32) from two-point range.
Head coach Josh Meyer, who is in his first year as a college head coach after more than a decade as an assistant, including serving the past two seasons with the Purple Knights and previously spending three years at Stonehill, became just the fifth head coach in the past 91 years to begin his Saint Michael's tenure 2-0. Meyer joined Bennie Borgman (1948-49), Barry Branon '36 (1949-52), Steve Antrim (1979-83) and all-time wins leader Tom O'Shea (1997-2010) on that select list.
Junior Jordan Wejnert led Georgian Court with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while first-year Alex Ramirez had nine points.
During the opening half, Saint Michael's shot 16-of-19 from two-point range, and 59.5 percent overall. After his team trailed 4-2, Holton put the Purple and Gold on top for good with a three-pointer at 16:47, and Thompson added eight points in a 2:45 span to stretch the Purple Knight advantage to double digits, 17-6, for the first time at 12:45. When Gaskins completed a three-point play with 1:59 remaining in the half, Saint Michael's had a 51-18 advantage.
The Purple and Gold led by a 53-28 count at intermission. Georgian Court crept within 53-32 by capping a 14-2 run 1:01 into the second stanza but never came closer than 20 points, and Saint Michael's used a 29-10 run to extend its lead and pull away.
The Lions commence the CACC portion of their schedule Tuesday evening with an 8:00 p.m. contest at Philadelphia University.
