NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored 34 points and Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) scored 27 points as the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team used a big second half to beat Rivier University 99-70 on Saturday afternoon in The Nest in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Daniels also added seven assists and three rebounds on the day. He scored 26 of his points in the second half. Kirkland scored 22 of his points in the second half and shot 10-for-15 overall from the field.

Isaiah Earl (Hamden, Conn.) scored 13 points with seven rebounds and five blocks.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus 99 | Rivier 70

RECORDS: Albertus (14-7, 6-2 GNAC) | Rivier 10-11, 3-5 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kirkland scored the first five points of the game, and the Falcons held a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game. The Raiders answered with a 9-2 run, tying the game at 9-9, before a three from Earl put the Falcons ahead 12-9.
• Nate Charlot (Monroe, Conn.) and Mohamed Kante (Bronx, N.Y.) came off the bench and each scored a basket to put the Falcons ahead 16-13 midway through the first half. The Raiders then went on a 9-3 run, including threes from Matt Youngquist and Jamari Williams to take their first lead of the game at 22-19 with 6:36 remaining. Earl scored the next five points of the Falcons as the teams were tied 24-24 with 5:17 left.
• Kante and Daniels then scored four points of a 10-0 run for the Falcons to take a 34-24 lead with 2:26 left. The Raiders trimmed the Albertus lead to 36-30 but Daniels hit a jumper before the buzzer to stake the Falcons to a 38-30 lead going into halftime.
• Kirkland scored the first seven points of the second half to put Albertus and a basket by Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) put the Falcons back ahead by double digits at 47-37 with 16:14 left.
• A basket by Rivier's Steph Barnes cut the Albertus lead to 49-40, but Ford, Jr. scored the next four points, putting the Falcons back ahead by double digits for good at 53-40. Later in the second half, two three-point plays by Daniels and an offensive rebound and put back by Charlot put the Falcons ahead, 63-49.
• Kirkland scored nine of the next 11 points for the Falcons, including a thunderous dunk and a three-pointer putting Albertus ahead 72-54 with 8:51 left. Daniels and Kirkland would continue to carry the scoring load and connect for another dunk by Kirkland as Albertus led 83-60.
• Daniels then scored 11 straight points - including two three-pointers - and Earl added a three-pointer himself as the Falcons were able to effectively put the game away for good.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

54.5 FG% | 36.4 3PT% | 79.2 FT%

Rivier

38.1 FG% | 29.2 3PT% | 71.4 FT%

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 34 PTS | 12-13 FT | 7 ASTS 

Jayquan Kirkland 27 PTS | 10-15 FG | 3-6 3PT | 4 REBS

Isaiah Earl 13 PTS | 5-9 FG | 3-6 3PT

Rivier

Izaiah Shaw-Glen 16 PTS | 7-12 FG | 4 REBS

Daylen Dalcour 11 PTS | 3-5 FG | 7 REBS

Matt Youngquist 10 PTS | 7 REBS

NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus is 39-13 overall against Rivier and have won 24 games in a row against the Raiders.
• Daniels now has six games this season scoring 30 or more points.
• In the six GNAC wins for Albertus this season, the Falcons have won by an average of 31.7 points per game.
• Kirkland has six games this season of 20 or more points.
• Earl's five blocks were a career-high

UP NEXT

The Falcons travel to Mitchell for a 5 p.m. tip on Wednesday, February 11th in GNAC action.