WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team lost 73-72 on Friday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

Isaiah Earl (Hamden, Conn.) led the Falcons with 23 points. Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 21 points with five rebounds and four assists.

Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) had a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) had eight points with seven assists.

Daniels finishes his career with 1,446 points, which ranks him sixth all time in program history.

THE BASICS

FINAL: USJ 73 | Albertus 72

RECORDS: Albertus (19-8) | USJ (20-7)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons had the mid-range game working early as they took a 15-9 lead at the 12:31 mark as Ford, Jr., Earl, Daniels and Kirkland all hit jumpers during the opening 7:29 of the game.
• Ford Jr., gave the Falcons their biggest lead of the half after a drive to the hoop for a layup. USJ trimmed the Albertus lead to 29-26 after two free throws by Roel Figueroa. Albertus responded to go back up by five points as Nate Charlot (Monroe, Conn.) hit a turnaround jumper to make it 31-26 with 2:19 left.
• The Blue Jays scored the final seven points of the half, including a three from Lence Altenor and a buzzer beater by Adelphe Cisse as they took a 33-31 lead.
• USJ took 42-37 lead early in the second half before Ford responded with deep three-pointer cut the lead down to two.
• Daniels made two straight baskets for the Falcons and Kirkland added one as the game remained a two-point affair. After USJ went up four points, Ford, Jr. hit a three while getting fouled. He made the free throw to tie the game at 52-52.
• The Falcons tied the game again at 62-62 after Earl spun in the lane and finished with a layup with 5:31 left. Earl would then finish two dunks, the first on an alley-oop by Ford, Jr. as Albertus trailed 69-68 with 1:41 left.
• The two teams exchanged free throws on the next two possessions, but a layup from USJ's Friedrich Feldrappe gave USJ a 72-69 lead with 23 seconds left. Albertus missed two threes on the ensuing possession and USJ made a free throw with six seconds left to seal the win.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

36.2 FG% | 17.6 3PT% | 73.1 FT%

USJ

45.1 FG% | 38.1 3PT% | 65.5 FT%

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

Isaiah Earl 23 PTS | 3 ASTS | 2 BLKS

Ray Ford, Jr. 21 PTS | 4 REBS | 5 ASTS

Ta'zhon Daniels 12 PTS | 11 REBS | 4 STLS

Jayquan Kirkland 8 PTS | 7 REBS

USJ

Roel Figueroa 23 PTS | 7-8 FG | 4-4 3PT

Friedrich Feldrappe 17 PTS | 9 REBS | 5 ASTS

Lence Altenor 14 PTS | 5 REBS