Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jim Seavey

The Suffolk men's basketball team ended their 2007-2008 season with a hard-fought conference win against Albertus Magnus College. Over the course of what has been a difficult season, posting just a 3-21 overall record, with a 2-15 mark in the GNAC, the Rams concluded their season with a win over their fellow GNAC cellar dwellers, the 4-20, (3-14) Falcons. In front of the home crowd at Regan gym, the men produced a balanced team effort and played well for all 40 minutes to claim an 83-80 victory over the visiting men from New Haven, Connecticut.
In what was already an emotional game - as it was the last game on this year's schedule - this match was prefaced by a delightful recognition of outstanding achievement for a Suffolk student-athlete. Junior forward Brian Small was honored before the game at center court for recently being named to the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District squad and also for becoming the 24th member of the Suffolk 1000 point club. After the presentation to Small however, it was then time for the main event to take the floor.
For the most part of the opening half, and particularly the first 10 minutes, neither team seemed like they would take control of the game. Both Suffolk and Magnus committed an abundance of turnovers and constantly sent the opposing team to the foul-line (Suffolk shot 11-15, Magnus, 7-12 in the half), causing the game to take on a slow and sometimes boring pace. The referees were trigger happy with the whistles and the game really didn't have a consistently flow to it, at least very early on. As the game progressed however, the teams slowly got their legs under them and settled into the game, the pace immediately quickened and one could feel immediately the intensity on the court rise. The Rams displayed a balanced offensive attack that spread the floor and wore down the Falcons defense while creating scoring chances from all over the court. Although they had no players in double figures in the first half, the Rams shot 40 percent from the field as a team and had nine players on the scoreboard, being led by Small and Mike Fleming who netted eight points each. Sophomore guard Alan Jaziri was spreading the ball around, dishing out six assists in the first half and also adding six points. On the defensive side, the Rams played vicious man on man coverage, forcing the Falcons into a frantic offensive scheme. Suffolk created 15 turnovers, and besides limiting Magnus' shot attempts, the Rams were able to run and score off the fast-break. Magnus, shot a very respectable 51.5 percent and was led in the half by mighty mouse John Donahue, a 5'7" guard, who dropped 14 points, including a three-pointer just as the halftime buzzer sounded, in 17 total minutes of play. At halftime, despite the somewhat sloppy play by both teams, the game was evenly matched heading into the break with Suffolk leading by a point, 46-45.

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