Eagles Capture First Skyline Win of the Season

Patchogue, N.Y.—The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (3-8, 1-3 Skyline) grabbed their first Skyline Conference victory at home against the Maritime Privateers (0-7, 0-3 Skyline) on Monday, outscoring scoring the visitors 78-65.  Keith Anderson's (Central Islip, N.Y./ North Babylon) efforts were unmatched as he led the team with19 points and 14 rebounds, both team-high's.

Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y./ Kings Park) could not be stopped in the opening moments of the game, easily knocking down two free throws, a three-point jumper and a lay-up within the first minute of play.  Anderson's made lay-up shortly after McCarthy's rally put the Eagles up 9-0 and dared the Privateers to fight back.

Maritime quickly found their groove and about halfway into the first half brought the game within one point. They would not gain the lead however as McCarthy, Anderson, Evan Mohammad (Bayside, N.Y./ Holy Cross) and Ryan Reidy (Sayville, N.Y./ Connetquot) pulled together offensively to give the Eagles a solid 12 point lead at the half.

St. Joseph's maintained the advantage into the second half as Maritime's sporadic efforts weren't enough to catch up to the Eagle's momentum.  Anderson's dunk off of an alley-oop from Mohammed with 15 minutes left in the game fired up the crowd and brought the score to 49-33.

Reidy had a hot hand in the closing plays of the contest, sinking two three-pointers in two minutes, bringing him to a total of three treys for the game.  Phil Calixte (Amityville, N.Y./ Holy Trinity) also proved to be an offensive force throughout the game, making five field goals and five of his six free throw attempts.

Anderson's team-high stats were complimented by 17 points and ten rebounds from McCarthy, who also was perfect from the foul line.  Calixte sunk 15 points, grabbed four rebounds and five steals; Mohamad and Reidy each contributed 11 points. St. Joseph's shot 43.8% from the field and 72.0% from the foul line.

The Eagles return to the court this Wednesday for another Skyline affair against Mount Saint Mary (5-5, 2-2 Skyline) at 7 p.m. in the Danzi Center.

(Game recap by Caitlynn Webber)