Johnson & Wales had four players in double-figures in the victory. Moran narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds while senior Brian Bannister (Boston, Mass.) also nearly tallied a double-double with 18 points, eight assists and four assists. Rounding out the double-figure scorers for JWU was junior Brian Fernandes (Fall River, Mass.) who notched 17 points and added three assists and senior Daisuke Yoshimoto (Osaka, Japan) who added 11 points and a game-high five assists in the win.
Leading the way for Suffolk was senior Chris Emma (Braintree, Mass.) who had a game-high 20 points while junior Josh Morelock (Poplar Grove, Ill.) added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the setback for the Rams.
The two teams battled back-and-forth early before Johnson & Wales used a 7-0 run midway through the first half to take its first double-digit advantage, 25-15 after a jumper by Moran. The Wildcats led by as many as 11 points in the first half before Suffolk closed out the half on a 12-3 run, including a layup by senior Chris Tighe (Easton, Mass.) with :09 left in the half to make the score 36-34 at halftime.
In the second half the two teams traded baskets early with Johnson & Wales holing a 51-50 lead after a jumper by Bannister with 11:23 left in the game. The visiting Rams then used a 7-0 run and took their largest lead of the game, 57-51 on a jumper by sophomore Miles Kane (Stillwater, Minn.) with 8:30 left in the contest.
The Wildcats responded, however and regained the lead, taking a 65-61 advantage after a layup by freshman Jeff Barbosa (Seekonk, Mass.) with 3:04 left in the game. Suffolk tied the game on a three-point play by Morelock, knotting the score at 65-65 with 1:48 left in the contest. Both teams had their chances to take the lead down the stretch before Moran hit the buzzer-beater to give the Wildcats the 67-75 victory.
With the win Johnson & Wales improves to 8-5 on the season, 6-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference while Suffolk falls to 4-8, 2-3 in league play.