Men's Basketball Cruises Past Nichols on the Road Monday Night, 85-62

DUDLEY, MA.- For being the University of St. Joseph (USJ) men's basketball teams first road game of the season, the Blue Jays felt right at home inside the Nichols Athletic Center. After cruising to an 85-62 victory over Nichols College on Monday night, USJ improved to 3-1 overall on the season, while the Bisons dropped to 2-3. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

In a game in which the Blue Jays never trailed, Senior guard Tahmeen Dupree (Brooklyn, N.Y.) knocked down a jumper to give USJ a 2-0 lead just 28 seconds into the contest. That basket kickstarted a 12-4 run over the first 4:49 of the first half and was capped off by a three pointer from Senior guard Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.), forcing Nichols to call a timeout. However, the pause in the action did not slow down the Blue Jays offense as Junior guard Tyshawn Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) pushed the lead to 12 points on a layup and Junior guard Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.) drained one of his three three-pointers of the evening to give USJ a, 23-8, advantage. Coming into the matchup, the Bison averaged just over 80 points a game, but the home team couldn't crack double-digit points until a layup from Sophomore forward Simon Percy (Vernon, Conn.) with 9:45 left in the first half to make it 26-10. Percy scored a career-high 20 points for the Bisons. USJ went into the halftime break leading 40-26. 

Nichols scored four of the first six points to start the second half, but Cummings hit three consecutive three-pointers in just over a three-minute span to give USJ a, 54-33, lead with 14:41 left in the game. Cummings, scored a season-high 22 points behind six three-pointers. A couple Blue Jay freshman impressed in this one as well as First-Year forward Adelphe Cisse (Pointe-Noire, Congo) scored a career-high 11 points in his first career start. While Freshman forward Rodney Desir (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored his first career collegiate points on a jumper with 2:06 left in the game to extend the Blue Jays to 28 points, its largest of the game (85-57). 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• The Blue Jays are now 2-0 all-time against the Bisons, a series that started back in 2023. 

• USJ is now 5-1 all-time in true road openers (excluding 2020-2021 covid season). 

• Four Blue Jays scored in double-digits: Cummings (22 points), Lence Altenor (15 points), Dupree (12 points), Cisse (11 points). 

• USJ shot a season-high FG% (31-59, 52.5%) including making a season-high 10 three pointers. 

• The Blue Jays outrebounded its opponent for first time this season (39-31). 

• USJ Scored a season-high 85 points while allowing a season-low 62 points. 

• The 62 points scored by Nichols is a season-low 62 points (their previous low was 70 points against University of Southern Maine). 

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays will enjoy a few days off during the Thanksgiving break but will quickly be back in action and on the road for the Christopher Newport Holiday INNvintational in Newport News, Virginia this upcoming weekend. USJ's first game in the tournament will be on Saturday November 30th against Franklin & Marshall at 2pm ET. Followed by a matchup against #10 Christopher Newport or Transylvania on Sunday at a time yet to be announced. All tournament games will be played inside the Freeman Center on the campus of Christopher Newport. 

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