Men's Hoops Nets Record 17 Threes in 97-54 Win Over Owls Monday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The nationally-ranked No. 2 University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team made a program-record 17 three-pointers in a 97-54 runaway victory over the visiting Westfield State University (WSU) Owls in a non-conference contest Monday night inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. Senior guard Tyree Mitchell (East Hartford, Conn.) led all scorers with a career-high 28 points to power the Blue Jays to their ninth straight victory to start the 2022-23 season and 21st consecutive home triumph.

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: #2 Saint Joseph 97, Westfield State 54
Records: #2 USJ (9-0), WSU (1-8) 
Location: James A. Calhoun Gymnasium (West Hartford, Conn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Saint Joseph won the tip and scored on its first possession when senior point guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) made a layup to open the scoring in the ballgame. A few possessions later, Westfield State got on the board and took the lead after a three-pointer from the left wing by senior forward JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.). However, the lead would be short-lived for the Owls as the Blue Jays came right back down the floor and Mitchell drilled the first of a program-record 17 threes from the corner to put USJ back on top with 18 minutes left in the opening half. The Blue Jays never trailed again for the remainder of the contest.

The Mitchell trey ignited a 15-1 run for the Blue Jays over the next three-and-a-half minutes to push their lead out to 17-4. Mitchell added another trifecta and had eight points during the spurt, while graduate student guard Ryan O'Neill (Litchfield, Conn.) capped off the run with a three-ball of his own.

Both teams traded points over the ensuing minutes until a three-pointer by freshman guard Jonathan Box (Frisco, Texas) with 6:35 remaining on the first-half clock initiated the next USJ run. The triple by Box gave the Blue Jays a 29-14 advantage and they went on to outscore the Owls 11-5 over the next three-plus minutes to build their largest lead of the first half, 40-19, with 3:15 left to play before the break. The Owls trimmed their deficit to 18, thanks to a last-second layup by senior forward Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.), and the Blue Jays entered the intermission ahead, 45-27.

Mitchell led Saint Joseph at the break with 19 first-half points, while O'Neill and Box added eight and seven, respectfully. The Blue Jays were red-hot shooting from the field, connecting on 51.6% (16-31) of their field-goal attempts as team, including 50.0% (7-14) from beyond the arc over the opening 20 minutes of action. USJ limited WSU to 35.5% (11-31 FG) and 20.0% (1-5 3FG).

Mitchell picked up right where he left off to start the second half and scored the first seven USJ points, including knocking down his fifth three of the game, as the Blue Jays built a 23-point lead, 52-29, early in the second stanza. After a WSU layup, Saint Joseph exploded with a massive 18-1 run to go up 70-32 with just over eight minutes left in regulation to put the game out of reach. The run endured for seven minutes during the middle of the second half where the Blue Jays made four three-pointers and held the Owls without a field goal.

After a Westfield State three-pointer halted the run temporarily, the Blue Jays kept their foot on the pedal and went on to take their largest lead of the game, 89-41, with just over four minutes left to play. Sophomore guard Ty Calloway (Enfield, Conn.) drilled USJ's single-game program-record 17th three to build the 48-point gap and the Blue Jays cruised the rest of the way en route to a 97-54 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Mitchell led a trio of USJ scorers in double figures on the night, finishing with a career-high 28 points.
• Mitchell shot 10-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-6 from downtown, and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
• O'Neill and Box were the other Blue Jays in double figures, finishing with 17 points and 10 points, respectively. It marked Box's first career game in double figures.
• Graduate student forward Alec Kinder (West Haven, Conn.) chipped in with seven points and pulled down a game-high six boards as USJ controlled the glass as a team, 38-29.
• Former Blue Jay Kumar Brown (Enfield, Conn.), who transferred to WSU after completing his undergraduate degree at USJ in 2021, led the Owls with 10 points and five rebounds.
• The Blue Jays forced 23 Westfield State turnovers and turned those miscues into 27 USJ points.
• Many of those forced turnovers resulted in easy transition buckets as the Blue Jays outscored the Owls in fast-break points, 25-6.
• USJ outshot WSU from the field 53.2% (33-62) to 34.5% (19-55) and from three-point range 51.5% (17-33) to 31.3% (5-16).

NOTES

• With the victory, USJ has now won its last 21-straight home games. That mark is the sixth longest streak in the nation.
• Tonight's game marked the first meeting all-time between the two programs.
• The Blue Jays are now 2-0 all-time versus opponents from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).
• USJ improves to 37-5 all-time versus opponents from Massachusetts, winning its last 31-straight games against teams from the Bay State.

UP NEXT

Men's basketball takes an 18-day break until it returns back to the hardwood on Friday, December 30 at nationally-ranked No. 14 WPI for a marquee non-conference contest. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Engineers is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside Harrington Auditorium in Worcester, Mass.