The Johnson & Wales University men’s basketball team defeated Suffolk, 76-60 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Harborside RAC on Monday evening.
Senior Brian Bannister (Boston, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points and added nine assists for Johnson & Wales. The Wildcats had four players in double-figures, including senior Conor Moran (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) with 21, freshman Justin Adams (Providence, R.I.) with 13 and senior Brian Fernandes (Fall River, Mass.) with 11. Senior Josh Morelock (Poplar Grove, Ill.) scored 15 points while junior John Murphy (North Reading, Mass.) added 14 points, five boards and three assists in the setback for the Rams.
Johnson & Wales jumped out to an early 12-5 lead on a jumper by Bannister with 13:03 left in the half and led 17-10 with 8:40 in the half before Suffolk used a 9-0 run over the next two minutes for the 19-17 advantage. JWU took the 29-24 lead into the locker room at half time.
The two teams traded leads in the early stages of the second half with Suffolk leading 46-45 with 10:59 left on the clock. The Wildcats then used an 18-7 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Fernandes for the teams first double-digit lead, a 63-53 lead with 4:34 left on the clock. JWU then cruised to the 76-60 victory.
With the win Johnson & Wales improves to 8-11, 6-6 in the GNAC while Suffolk falls to 8-10, 6-5 in league play. The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, February 4th when they host Daniel Webster in a GNAC contest at 3:00 p.m.
www.jwu.edu/prov/athletics
For more information, contact Dan Booth (401) 598-1632