HARTFORD, Conn. - Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored a game-high 38 points, leading the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team to its seventh straight win as it defeated UMass-Dartmouth, 100-82 on Tuesday evening at the Trinity Holiday Tournament hosted by Trinity College.

Daniels shot 15-for-27 from the field and also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) scored 25 points, including 5-for-8 from three. Isaiah Earl (Hamden, Conn.) scored 14 points to go with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals and Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) finished with eight points, six rebounds and six assists.

The Falcons will now take on current No. 1 and defending Division III National Champion, Trinity College in the championship game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus 100 | UMass-Dartmouth 82

RECORDS: Albertus (8-3) | UMass-Dartmouth (5-4)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UMass-Dartmouth jumped out to 16-8 lead just over five minutes into the game as Camden DiChiara hit two threes to start the game for the Corsairs. Daniels and Ford, Jr. split the first eight points for the Falcons.
• Albertus trimmed the deficit to 18-17 at the 12:53 mark behind five more points from Daniels.
• A basket from Darius Peterson put the Corsairs back up by five points, but a 10-3 run capped by a jumper from Ford, Jr. put ALbertus ahead 27-25 at the 9:03 mark. Ford, Jr. also had a steal on the run, leading to a dunk from Earl.
• The two teams remained close over the next six minutes as the game was tied 39-39 with 2:24 left. However, the Falcons closed the first half on a 9-2 run behind five points from Daniels, as Albertus took a 48-41 lead into the halftime break. Earl capped the run with two free throws as he was fouled at the buzzer. Daniels finished with 22 points in the half as Ford, Jr. and Earl each scored eight.
• Albertus took a 56-43 lead after going on an 8-2 run to start the second half, Daniels scored four points on the opening run, including a layup off a steal from Ford, Jr. and Kirkland's first two field goals of the game.
• The Crosairs trimmed the lead to eight points two times, but Daniels answered each time with a basket, and Kirkland hit his first three of the game putting Albertus up 65-52 at the 13:54 mark.
• Over the a stretch of 7:28 through the second half, Kirkland went on a tear, scoring 18 points as part of a 27-11 run that gave the Falcons an 92-63 lead with 6:26 left. Kirkland hit four straight threes for the Falcons during the run as Albertus put the game out of reach.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

50.0 FG% | 38.9 3PT% | 68.2 FT%

UMass-Dartmouth

35.5 FG% | 48.0 3PT% | 76.2 FT% 

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

• Ta'zhon Daniels 38 PTS | 15-27 FG | 2 STLS
• Jayquan Kirkland 25 PTS | 10-17 FG | 5-8 3PT 
• Isaiah Earl 14 PTS | 4-7 FG | 5 REBS | 3 BLKS
• Ray Ford, Jr. 8  PTS | 6 REBS | 6 ASTS
• Avery Hinnant 13 REBS | 2 BLKS

UMass-Dartmouth

• Cam Dunbury 16 PTS | 9 REBS
• Camden Dichiara 14 PTS | 4-7 3PT | 6 REBS
• Darius Peterson 11 PTS | 3-6 3PT

NOTEWORTHY

• There were 10 lead changes and 14 ties in the game, all coming in the first half.
• Daniels vaulted up to 14th all-time in scoring at Albertus and now has 1,133 points in his career. He has scored at least 31 points in his last three games, averaging 37.6 points during that time. Daniels leads the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in scoring at 21.9 points per game.
• Kirkland has three games this season with five or more threes. He leads the GNAC with 34 three-pointers.