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| Elbie Murphy '09 |
Scot Vachon '09 |
Alberto Rue '10 |
Ray Eatmon '10 |
The 2007-08
Monks basketball team was faced with high expectations after the 06-07
squad set the bar with a 22-8 record, the program’s first-ever
Division III Northeast Regional Independent Championship and a runner-up
finish in the ECAC New England Tournament. For the 07-08 team, the
lofty expectations came with uncertainty.
The Monks lost six seniors from the 22-8 team to graduation last May,
including offensive stalwarts Chad Pulkkinen (16.8 ppg) and Marcus
Alexander (11.9 ppg). The 07-08 roster included no seniors, six juniors,
four sophomores, five freshman and two returning starters in Elbie
Murphy and Scot Vachon.
The talented junior class was faced with the unfamiliar task of leading
a young team in a new conference. After five seasons of playing as
an NCAA Division III Independent, the Monks were primed and ready
for the team’s first season in the Great Northeast Athletic
Conference (GNAC). Although fifth-year head coach Rob Sanicola and
his seasoned staff certainly had the team prepared for conference
play, the fact remained that the league was comprised of ten other
teams, eight of which the Monks had never faced on the hardcourt.
Coach Sanicola completed his fifth season at the helm with a 14-13
overall record and guided his team to an 11-7 tilt in GNAC play in
2007-08. The Monks earned the #5 seed in the conference tournament
and defeated #4 Johnson and Wales University on their home court in
a GNAC quarterfinal game for the program’s first GNAC playoff
win. The Monks would see their season come to an end in a hard-fought
loss at the hands of #1 seed Emerson College, 79-75, in the semifinal
game.
The Monks kicked off the season with a trio of contests against in-state
rivals. The Royal Blue suffered a pair of losses on the road, including
a tough 64-61 loss to the University of Maine-Farmington on opening
night. After losing to Bowdoin College a week later to fall to 0-2,
the Monks were ready get on track by playing the University of New
England in front of the home crowd at “The Lake.” St.
Joe’s received double-digit point totals from four players that
night, including a team-high 16 from freshman Chris
Davis, to secure a 76-66 victory over the Nor’easters.
On December 1st, the Monks traveled to Newton, MA to play Lasell College
in the team’s first GNAC contest. The offensive-minded Lasers
defeated St. Joe’s as five players reached double-digits in
points, but the Royal Blue showed signs of promise as rookie Chris
Davis led the Monks with 21 points and Elbie
Murphy, recovering from a knee injury, added 15.
St. Joe’s, still searching for the team’s identity, hosted
Husson College four days later and lost, 81-68. Murphy
paced the Monks with 20 points and sophomore Ray
Eatmon netted 16 in the losing effort.
The loss to rival Husson College seemed to spark the Royal Blue, as
the squad went on to record five consecutive victories, including
four in-conference wins and a thrilling triumph over NESCAC opponent
Colby College.
The Monks started the streak by defeating Daniel Webster College 112-102
on December 8th at “The Lake” to record the program’s
first GNAC victory. Leading the offensive charge was Ray
Eatmon, who posted a double-double with 17 points
and 21 rebounds, one board shy of tying the all-time single game mark
held by Bryan Rubenskas (22 boards vs. Bryant, 12/13/86). The win
capped the first semester with the Monks holding a 2-4 record.
The Royal Blue opened the 2008 segment of their schedule with a thrilling,
last-second win over Colby College on January 3rd. Freshman Eric
Friend took an inbounds pass and heaved a 60 foot
shot into the basket as time expired to give the Monks an 85-83 victory.
Friend and Murphy both scored 20
points in the game.
The Monks would see their record improve to 4-4 with an 86-82 overtime
victory over GNAC foe Norwich University in Northfield, VT. Murphy
scored a season-high 30 points to lead all scorers and Eatmon
recorded his third consecutive double-double with 22 points and 14
boards.
The Monks went on to defeat a pair of GNAC rivals, Albertus Magnus
College and Suffolk University, by a total of 42 points to cap the
five-game winning streak and improve the team’s record to 6-4
overall and 4-1 in GNAC play.
On January 17th Lasell College defeated the Monks 82-73 in Standish
in GNAC action and fell to 4-2 in league play. The Monks rebounded
in a big way by saddling the Mount Ida College Mustangs with a 102-50
defeat at “The Lake” in their next game. Twelve different
SJC players scored in the conference win and Alonso
Davis led with a career-high 26 points.
St. Joe’s suffered consecutive setbacks to GNAC opponent Emmanuel
College and in-state rival Southern Maine before finding the win column
with an 85-71 triumph over Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT.
Elbie Murphy became the 29th player
in Monks Basketball history to reach the 1,000 point plateau in the
victory and led all scorers with 30 points.
After the Royal Blue lost their final non-conference game of the season
to Bates College on January 29th, the Monks closed out the season
with nine pivotal conference contests. St. Joe’s seemed unable
to find a groove during the stretch, as the team posted a respectable
5-4 record against a slate of formidable GNAC teams but couldn’t
manage to string the wins together.
The stretch began with a home game against Rivier College on January
31st. The Monks, in front of an SJC crowd feverishly shaking boxes
of macaroni for the promotional “Mac ‘n Cheese Night,”
defeated the GNAC rival Raiders in exciting fashion, 76-75, as Scot
Vachon made a layup in the final seconds to secure the win.
Emerson College defeated St. Joe’s, 80-70, in a battle of third-place
teams on February 2nd to drop the Monks’ record to 9-9 overall
and 7-4 in GNAC play. The Royal Blue responded in their next game
with an 84-71 victory over Suffolk as Chris Davis paced all scorers
with his career-high 25 points.
Johnson and Wales overcame a 49-40 deficit to defeat the Monks 98-92
in overtime on February 9th at “The Lake.” St. Joe’s
fell to 10-10 overall and 8-5 in GNAC contests with the loss as Murphy
netted 30 points and Eatmon recorded a double-double
with 18 points and 16 boards in the losing bid.
Three days later, the Monks traveled to Nashua, NH to take on the
feisty Daniel Webster College Eagles. Eatmon scored
18 points and sophomore Alberto Rue
netted 15 in a balanced SJC attack that helped the Royal Blue secure
an 89-78 victory.
On February 16th Norwich University made their first-ever trip to
“The Lake” and defeated the Monks in tight conference
contest, 76-73. Eatmon registered his seventh double-double
of the season with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds and Rue
chipped in with a 6-9 effort from beyond the arc for 18 points. With
the loss, St. Joe’s fell to 11-11 overall and 9-6 in GNAC contests.
The Monks traveled to Newton, MA to face off against GNAC foe Mount
Ida College on February 19th and returned home with a 79-70 victory.
Rue connected on 6 of 8 three-point shots and scored
a career and game-high 19 points in the triumph.
On February 21st the Monks lost 77-66 to Rivier College in Nashua,
NH to yet again fall to .500 overall (12-12). The in-conference loss
dropped the Royal Blue to 10-7 in league play. Rue
led St. Joe’s with 18 points, all in the second half, and was
the only SJC player to score more than nine points.
The Monks hosted top-ranked Emmanuel College in the final regular
season conference game for both teams on February 23rd. The Saints
squandered an 18-point lead with 10 minutes in the first half and
the Monks outscored Emmanuel 37-28 in the second stanza, including
a game-clinching lay-up by Scot Vachon with 3.2 seconds remaining,
to earn a 69-68 victory. Alberto Rue
led the team in scoring, for the third consecutive game, with 14 points
and Chris Davis chipped in with
a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards in the thrilling victory.
With the win, the Monks capped the regular season with a 13-12 overall
record and an 11-7 GNAC record, good for the fifth seed in the conference
playoffs.
On February 26th, the Monks traveled to Providence, RI to play Johnson
and Wales in a GNAC quarterfinal contest. The Royal Blue defeated
the Wildcats, 71-68, in a hard-fought game to record the team’s
first GNAC postseason win. Murphy scored 19 points
to lead the Monks and Eatmon added 11 points in the
must-win game.
With the quarterfinal win over Johnson and Wales, St. Joe’s
advanced to the semifinal round to play #1 seed Emerson College on
their home court in Boston. The Monks shot 50.8% from the floor, but
the sharp-shooting Lions made 60% of their shots and 18 of 20 free-throw
attempts to secure a 79-75 victory. Murphy and Rue
each scored 14 points to lead five SJC players who netted 10 or more
points.
With the loss, the Monks concluded a successful 2007-08 season with
a 14-13 overall record and an 11-7 conference record. In the first
season as a league member, the Royal Blue proved they belong in the
upper echelon of the GNAC with some key victories and strong play
during the final weeks of the season.
After the conclusion of the season, junior Elbie
Murphy was named to the GNAC All-Conference Second
Team and the MMBCWA All-State First Team, sophomore Ray
Eatmon received Third Team honors and sophomore Alberto
Rue was listed on the GNAC All-Tournament Team.
Murphy averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 steals and 1.2 blocks
per game to lead the Monks and his 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per
game both ranked second on the team. The junior forward also set the
GNAC single-season record for steals (57) and steals per game (3.17)
in 2007-08 and ranked 10th in all of NCAA Division III in steals per
game.
Eatmon led the Monks with 8.4 rebounds per game and
was second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per contest. Eatmon
ranked fifth overall in the conference in rebounds per game and was
the third most efficient shooter in the conference with a .580 (116-200)
field goal percentage.
Rue emerged as the Monks’ top long-range threat
last year, making 55 of 116 three-point shots for a 47.4% success
rate to break the St. Joe’s single-season three-point shooting
percentage record. Rue’s long distance shooting percentage ranked
3rd in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and his 55 three-pointers
made ranked 4th in the league. Overall, Rue ranked third on the team
with 11.6 points per game.
Look for the 2008-09 Monks to take the next step in solidifying their
position as a top program in New England. With a talented class of
incoming recruits and last year’s roster returning intact, the
Monks appear poised to make a run at the GNAC Championship in just
their second year in the conference.
