COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's basketball team utilized a late 17-4 run to overcome Assumption University, 68-64, on Tuesday evening during Northeast-10 Conference play at the Ross Sports Center.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-13, 3-10 NE10), Assumption (9-10, 5-10 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Patrick Gardner (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun/Nassau CC), 17 points, 16 rebounds, 5 offensive rebounds, 3 blocks, 7-for-13 field goals
• First-year CJ Crews (Tampa, Fla./Bayshore Christian School), 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
• First-year Jacob Duniver (Fredericksburg, Va./Woodstock Academy), 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5-for-8 field goals
• Senior Jason Heter (Andover, N.J./Newton), 8 points
• Senior Jontai Williams (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes), 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Junior Jalen Gorham (York, Pa./MacDuffie School), 5 points, 4 rebounds
• First-year Nahshon Battle (Scotch Plains, N.J./Woodstock Academy), 6 rebounds, 3 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Kani Glover, 17 points, 4 steals
• Junior Isiah Gater, 13 points, 2 blocks
• Sophomore Njavan Stewart, 13 points
• Graduate student Omar El Sheikh, 12 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists
• Graduate student Matthew Kelly, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

GAME FACTS

• Gardner upped his season block total to 51, the most by a Purple Knight since Michel Bonebo '90 set a school record with 116 in 1989-90. Gardner passed Dave MacFarlane '84 (50 in 1982-83) for sixth in program history, becoming just the fourth Saint Michael's player with 50 rejections since the stat began being tracked in the early 1980s.
• Gardner registered his 12th double-double.
• The Purple Knights held a decisive rebounding advantage (54-37) while trimming the Greyhounds in shooting, 40.0%-34.7%, and paint points, 36-28. They also benefited greatly from a 20-5 lead in bench points.

THE ACTION

• Duniver had five points as the Purple Knights forged an 8-0 lead, ultimately claiming a 13-2 advantage on Crews' three-pointer at 15:32 of the first half.
• Saint Michael's led by 11 points three times, including 18-7 on a Heter lay-in at 13:07, before Assumption countered with a 22-8 run on the strength of three triples to lead 29-26. Heter's basket at 59 seconds sent the teams into halftime tied at 34.
• Another Heter hoop had the Purple Knights up 40-38 at 17:27 of the second half before the Greyhounds responded with a 12-4 run to nab a 50-44 edge on El Sheikh's freebie at 11:07.
• With their team down 55-51, first-year Purple Knights sparked a 17-4 run that put the hosts into the lead for good. Crews drained a three to bring the Purple and Gold within one before Duniver's lay-in briefly gave Saint Michael's a 56-55 edge at 5:47, only to see Stewart convert a go-ahead dunk 38 seconds later.
• Gardner's jumper with 3:57 left accounted for the final lead change, and he added a trey from the top of the arc at 3:14 to make it 61-57. After Glover hit two free throws, Williams went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe before making a jump-stop jumper in the lane with 2:02 left, pushing the lead to 65-59.
• Gorham added three free throws to ice the game with 24 seconds left. Assumption came up with five points in the final four seconds to create the final margin.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at Franklin Pierce University, 3:30 p.m.