BOSTON – The top team in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), the University of Saint Joseph Blue Jays, remained perfect in conference play as they defeated the Emmanuel Saints, 93-53, on Tuesday night on Andy Yosinoff Court.

The Blue Jays improve to 12-5 (6-0 GNAC) and have won five straight games while the Saints fall to 2-14 (1-4 GNAC).

After a back-and-forth start saw USJ lead 10-9 early in the game, the Blue Jays began to pull away with a 16-2 run over a span of 6:26, boosting their advantage to 26-11. Six different Blue Jays scored in the run, capped off by a short-range jumper by sophomore Jalen Holmes.

The Saints cut the deficit to 10 on a three-pointer by junior Ismani Cepeda and a layup for sophomore Mahari Guerrier, but the Saint Joseph offense pushed back quickly, using a 13-2 spurt, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, to take a 39-18 edge.

The Blue Jays led by as many as 27 by the end of the half, as USJ used 58.6 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes, to hold a 51-24 lead at the break.

Emmanuel made a final run at the beginning of the second half, outscoring the Blue Jays 15-6 in the opening 5:32, cutting the deficit to 57-39. But the Saint Joseph shooting was too much to overcome, as the Blue Jays shot 51.4 percent in the second half, on their way to Tuesday's 40-point win.

Blue Jays junior Lence Altenor scored a team-high 24 points in 28 minutes on 8-for-12 shooting. Junior Friedrich Feldrappe finished with 18 points on 7-for-13 from the floor while senior Kevin Cummings added 14 points.

Guerrier finished the night with a game-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Noah Beaudet chipped in with nine points thanks to 3-of-8 shooting from three-point range.

The Saints return to action on Saturday, Jan. 25, traveling to Mitchell for a 1:00 p.m. game in GNAC play. The Blue Jays head to Regis on Saturday to take on the Pride in a GNAC tip at 3:00 p.m.