Men’s Basketball Blocks Colby Sawyer in Home Opener, 66-51

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball combined for 12 swats powered by eight from Greg Keane and used a second half offensive surge to top Colby Sawyer, 66-51, in front of its home crowd at Larry E. Smith and Michael S. Smith Court Wednesday night. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 65 |Colby Sawyer 51
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-0) | Colby Sawyer (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Suffolk opened with a 5-0 lead off a James Jones layup and a Nick Verdile 3-pointer. Colby Sawyer battled back to even the score on four separate occasions, but the Rams never relinquished their edge and went into halftime knotted at 22-22.
• The score tied twice, and the lead changed hands three times in the first 3:42 of the second half before Suffolk was forced into a timeout facing its largest deficit of the night at 31-28.
• The Rams responded with a 15-2 run out of the huddle sparked by a Harrison Niel trey and an old-school three-point play to take their first double-digit advantage of the night, 43-33, with 13:33 remaining.
• The teams traded baskets down the stretch before Verdile sealed the win with a standing ovation swish from behind-the-arc with over a minute left on the clock.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Verdile led the scoring efforts with 16 points, shooting 3-of-6 from downtown to pair with two steals.
• Jones tallied a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds, while his freshman classmate Marquis White added 11 points, five assists, four rebounds, and one steal and block each, respectively.
• Niel was a threat on both sides of the floor, securing nine points and three steals.
• Keene was a consistent presence in the paint, blocking eight shots in his 24 minutes.
• Suffolk shot 50 percent from the floor (25-50), while holding the Chargers to 28.6 connection rate (20-70) from the field.

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk is the first team in NCAA Division III this season to block 12 shots in a single game.
• The dozen blocks are the most by a NCAA DIII squad since Albertus Magnus logged 12 versus Elms Jan. 31, 2025.  
• The Rams notched double figures in blocks since they had 11 against Emmanuel Feb. 7, 2012.
• Keane is the second DIII player this season to register eight blocks in a single contest and the first since Tyler Copes achieved the feat for Grinnell against Kalamazoo on November 7, 2025.
• Keane's eight blocks are the most by a Ram in a single game since Matt Pepdjonovic had nine versus Emmanuel Feb. 7, 2012.
• Jones recorded his first collegiate double-double, setting career highs in rebounds (15), assists (3), blocks (2), and steals (1).
• Ashton Whittingham tallied his first career points, finishing with six.
• White added personal highs with five assists and four rebounds.
• Neil's three steals marked a new career high.
• Wednesday's matchup marked the 10th meeting between Suffolk and Colby Sawyer.
• The Rams now hold a 7-3 all-time advantage over the Chargers behind their sixth straight win in the series.
• Suffolk improved to 4-1 at home in the series.
• Under head coach Jeff Juron, the Rams are a perfect 6-0 against the Chargers. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk remains home Saturday, Nov. 15 when it welcomes Salem State to Smith Court for a 2:00 p.m. showdown.