Men's Hoops Falls to Rosemont in Rose City Classic Championship Game

Madison, N.J. - The Golden Eagles men's basketball team (1-1) rounded out the Rose City Classic Sunday and battled to the very end, but ultimately fell to Rosemont College (2-0), 65-63, in the tournament championship game. 

Sean McCarthy's (Kings Park, N.Y. / Kings Park) 21 points (six boards) led SJC, while Isaiah Moore (North Babylon, N.Y. / North Babylon) scored 15 and led in rebounds with seven, as the duo led the team down the stretch.  Collectively, they recorded 36 of the team's total points, 14 of 29 rebounds, and four of the team's seven steals.  Moore also had two blocked shots.

McCarthy and Moore played well throughout the tournament and received Rose City Classic All-Tournament Team honors.

The Golden Eagles played an all-around game, hitting on 45.7% of their field goal attempts.  They also had better luck at the line than Rosemont, making 68% of their free throws.  They managed to put up relatively identical numbers with the Ravens in all other categories, except for one; three-point field goals.  Behind the arc, St. Joseph's College drained just 4 of 17 shots.  Making a mere 23.5% of their three-pointers, the Golden Eagles could not keep up with Rosemont's success from downtown, who made 43.5%. 

St. Joseph's overall poor three-point shooting performance was on full display in the last minute of the game.  The Golden Eagles missed multiple three's in an attempt to take the lead until a Nick Gallina (Holbrook, N.Y. / Holbrook) foul forced the Raven's to head to the line.  Knocking down one of two shots, Rosemont took a two-point lead.  

With 30 seconds remaining Evan Mohammed (Bayside, N.Y. / Holy Cross) missed a jump shot from mid-range, but Moore came down with his fourth offensive board of the game, giving the Eagles one last breath. 

Eight seconds were left when first-year head coach Kevin Spann called his last timeout in hope to draw up a play that would send the Golden Eagles to overtime for the second straight game.

SJC's Fernando Vazquez (Babylon, N.Y. / Babylon) got the ball for one last chance.  The Golden Eagles inbounded the ball and with three seconds left, Vazquez broke free of his defender.  Swinging the ball out to him, the sophomore was lined up for the contested shot.  He let the mid-range shot go, but missed the game tying opportunity as time ran off the clock.  The Golden Eagles could not repeat Saturday's buzzer-beater magic and lost, splitting the tournament 1-1.

St. Joseph's College will have their next game on Wednesday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m.  The Golden Eagles (1-1) will be hosting the Medgar Evers College Cougars (0-1) for their 2014 home-opener, with the women's team tipping at 5:30 p.m. in the first end of the doubleheader.