NEW HAVEN, Conn. - For the 17th consecutive season, the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team reached the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals as the Falcons defeated the Regis College, 96-57 in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament on Wednesday evening.

Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) led all scorers with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists. Daniels also moved up to seventh all-time in scoring at Albertus with 1,434 points in his career.

Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists to go with four steals. Isaiah Earl (Hamden, Conn.) had 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals while Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) had 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

Off the bench, Lennox Serrano (Waterbury, Conn.) shot 6-for-7 from the field, scoring 13 points with eight rebounds.

The Falcons - seeded third, and who have now won six straight games - will head to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) to take on the second-seeded Blue Jays on Friday at 7 p.m.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus 96 | Regis 57

RECORDS: Albertus (19-7) | Regis (14-12)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus opened up the game taking a 13-7 lead against the sixth-seeded Pride as each starter had at least one point during the opening run, including Ford, Jr. and Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) with four points.
• An alley-oop from Ford, Jr. to Earl put the Falcons ahead 15-10 with 10:49 left in the first half, but the Pride responded with a 16-8 run led by Jamir Harvey with four points and a three from Aamyr Sullivan.
• The teams swapped leads three more times, with the final time coming after a steal from Earl led to a jumper from Serrano put Albertus ahead 29-28. Ford, Jr. then stole the ball on the ensuing Regis possession and Earl finished with a one-handed jam to put the Falcons ahead by three. Ford, Jr. scored the final five points of the first half for the Falcons, including a three as the Falcons took a 38-32 lead into halftime.
• Albertus took over the game immediately in the second half, scoring the first 10 points to take a 48-32 lead. Ford, Jr. scored four points during the run as did Kirkland, with the final two points coming on a block from Earl leading to a layup.
• Later in the first half, Daniels hit three straight mid-range jumpers to give the Falcons a 64-41 lead with 10:55 left. Less than three minutes later, the Falcons took a 30-point lead at 77-47 after back-to-back three-point plays by Serrano and Kirkland.
• Daniels hit one more three and Tahijj Hunter (Mount Laurel, N.J.) had two buckets in the final minutes as the Falcons closed out the win.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

54.7 FG% | 18.2 3PT% | 85.7 FT%

Regis

31.1 FG% | 24.0 3PT% | 81.3 FT%

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

Ta'zhon Daniels 21 PTS | 8-13 FG | 4 REBS | 4 ASTS

Ray Ford, Jr. 17 PTS | 11 ASTS | 4 STLS

Isaiah Earl 14 PTS | 6-9 FG | 8 REBS | 5 STLS

Jayquan Kirkland 13 PTS | 6-12 FG

Lennox Serrano 13 PTS | 6-7 | 8 REBS 

Avery Hinnant 8 PTS | 12 REBS

Regis

Jamir Harvey 13 PTS | 7 REBS

Ned Fitzpatrick 10 PTS | 4-6 FG

NOTEWORTHY

• Albertus is now 13-1 all-time against Regis, including the last five meetings.
• Daniels has scored 20 or more points in his last six games.
• Ford, Jr.'s 11 assists were a career high.
• Earl's five steals were a career-high.