West Hartford, CT- The Men's Basketball team returned to Boston after Christmas in order to participate in the inaugural USJ Holiday Tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast. The tournament field includes the host the University of Saint Joseph Bluejays, Pine Manor Gators, SUNY-Old Westbury Panthers and the Falcons. Taking on the host in the first game of the tournament, a slow start in the first half would propel the home team over the Falcons 91-56. With the win the Bluejays have now won seven straight, improving to 8-2, while the Falcons have now lost two in a row for the first time this season to drop to 5-6. 

The Bluejays got off to a hot start, outscoring the Falcons 19-4 over the first eight minutes. Senior Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA) ended the USJ run hitting a lay-up at the 10:22 mark. USJ continued to shoot well, going on a 32-9 run over the rest of the half while shooting nearly 50% to take a 51-15 lead into the locker room. 

USJ extended their lead into the second stanza, going up by as many as 39 with 18:24 left on the clock. The Falcons responded with an 8-0 run sparked by back-to-back three's from Jason Augliera (Discovery Bay, CA) and Kyle Williams (Fairfield, CA) to bring it back to a 58-27 game. Augliera knocked down his third trifecta of the half to make it a 26-point game with 6:45 remaining, but that would be the closest the Falcons would get as the Bluejays hung on for their 8th victory of the season. The Bluejays held the Falcons to 34% shooting on the afternoon, while outrebounding the Falcons 47-29. 

Lumpkins and Augliera led the way for the Falcons with 17 points a piece while combining for 10 boards and six steals in the losing effort. The Bluejays were led by Delshawn Jackson Jr who led all scorers with 19 points while Taelon Martin and Jordan Powell each contributed with 13 points each. 

The Falcons will face off against the loser of the Pine Manor/SUNY matchup on Sunday afternoon at 1pm in the consolation game, while the Bluejays await the winner and will play at 3:30pm in the tournament championship.