Eagles Outshoot Rams to Remain Perfect In Skyline Play

Farmingdale, N.Y. – St. Joseph's defeated Farmingdale State, 83-72, in a battle of the Skyline Conference "unbeaten" in Farmingdale, N.Y. Tuesday night.  The Eagles improved to 10-3 overall and remain undefeated in the conference at 7-0.  The Rams fell to 8-4, and 4-1 Skyline with the loss.

In the first half, the Rams led by as much as 12 before St. Joseph's went on a 19-5 run and took the lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Chris Jimenez (Huntington Station, N.Y.) to make it 30-28 with 6:27 remaining before the break. A dunk by junior forward AJ Matthews (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would end the Golden Eagles run and tied the game at 30-30.

The Golden Eagles responded on the next possession to take the lead 32-30 on a layup by Skyline Player of the Week Olivier Laurent (Amityville, N.Y) and Matthews followed with a layup to tie the score for the second time of the night, 32-32.

Rams junior guard Ryan Davis (Flushing, N.Y.) forced a turnover the next trip down the court which would allow Matthews to come in for another dunk to give his team back the lead at 34-32. SJC's Steve Velasquez (Hauppauge, N.Y.) hit three three-point field goals in the last four minutes of the half and St. Joseph's was able to open up a nine point lead before heading into the locker room with a 49-43 advantage at the break.

Leading scorers at the half were Farmingdale's Matthews with 16 points and nine boards and Golden Eagles' senior guard Laurent with 19 points.

In the second half, Farmingdale slowly chipped away and would tie the score on a three-pointer from senior guard Dyshaun Flournoy (Brentwood, N.Y.), 56-56, with 16:10 to play. The Golden Eagles used a 6-0 run on a three by Trey Black (Bayport, N.Y.) and a jumper by Shahab Syed (Huntington, N.Y.) to take back the lead, 62-56 and the closest the Rams would get was two points the rest of the way.  A three by Vincent Russo (Sayville, N.Y.) would stretch the lead to 67-60 as the clock ticked below 10 minutes.

St. Joseph's made 12 three-pointers on the night and was led by Laurent team-highs of 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.  Velazquez finished with 19 points on 5-of-8 from three-point territory.  Black (16 points, nine rebounds) and Russo (13 points, six rebounds) also finished in double figures for the Eagles.

For Farmingdale, Matthews finished with a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 13-of-17 from the field. Flournoy had 15 points, while Davis grabbed 10 rebounds and scored seven points.

The Eagles next game will be at home Tuesday evening as they play another Skyline opponent, Mount Saint Vincent, at 7:00 p.m. in the Danzi Center.